Gov. Shumlin Helps Dedicate PSEG Essex Solar Center

Governor Proclaims June 20 Solar Day in Vermont

News provided by

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)

Jun 05, 2015, 11:00 ET

ESSEX, Vt., June 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin today joined PSEG Solar Source, Encore Redevelopment, juwi solar Inc. (JSI) and Vermont Electric Power Producers Inc. (VEPP) to dedicate the PSEG Essex Solar Center. The 3.6-megawatt-dc facility, located roughly four miles northeast of Burlington, VT, is the state's largest solar farm.

Aerial view of 3.6-megawatt-dc PSEG Essex Solar Center in Vermont.

The 15-acre PSEG Essex Solar Center began commercial operations in October. It uses approximately 12,000 photovoltaic solar panels to generate enough solar energy to power more than 600 homes. Its pollution-free energy displaces approximately 2,841 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of removing approximately 600 cars from the road.

Gov. Shumlin called the solar farm a glimpse into Vermont's future.

"The PSEG Essex Solar Center is a great fit with Vermont's commitment to a future of clean, renewable energy sources," Gov. Shumlin said. "Now more than ever, it is critical that we adopt cleaner, cheaper and more secure local electrical generation that increases our competitiveness, reduces air pollution, improves public health and creates jobs."

The Essex facility is PSEG Solar Source's 10th installation, totaling 110 MWs-DC in eight states including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas.

"The PSEG Essex Solar Center helps point the way forward, toward a sustainable future for all," said Diana Drysdale, president-PSEG Solar Source. "We are proud to be a part of a project that contributes to Vermont's clean-energy economy and supports the State's goal of increasing the amount of locally generated renewable energy. Today we dedicate the largest solar project in Vermont and celebrate a milestone in providing green energy for the people of the Green Mountain State."

The solar farm was developed and constructed by JSI. It has a 25-year power purchase agreement with VEPP as part of the Vermont Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) program.

"Encore Redevelopment is delighted to see this project come to fruition," said Chad Farrell, principal at Encore. "We hope this project can serve as an example of the multilateral value of distributed renewable generation for providing additional electric capacity, economic development and protection of Vermont's valuable and iconic working landscape."

The solar farm occupies a leased section of the Whitcomb Farm and helps the Farm, which has been in continuous operation since 1867, remain in active agricultural use.

"The Whitcomb Family and Charlie Smith formed a partnership to pursue developing the project years ago and are extremely pleased and proud to see the solar farm producing power now," said Meg Whitcomb Armstrong.

JSI served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and will manage the day-to-day operation of the plant.

PSEG Solar Source's other operating facilities are:

PSEG Mars Solar Garden, a 2.2-MW facility located adjacent to the Mars Snackfood's U.S. headquarters in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
PSEG Shasta Solar Farm, two adjacent solar facilities totaling 4.4 MW located in Shasta County, California.
PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm, a 12-MW solar farm in Wyandot County, Ohio.
PSEG Jacksonville Solar Farm, a 15-MW solar facility in Jacksonville, Florida.
PSEG Milford Solar Farm, a 15-MW solar farm in Milford, Delaware.
PSEG Badger 1 Solar Farm, a 19.3-MW solar facility located west of Phoenix, Arizona.
PSEG Queen Creek Solar Farm, a 25.2-MW solar farm in Queen Creek, Arizona.
PSEG El Paso Solar Energy Center, a 13-MW solar farm in El Paso, Texas.

PSEG Solar Source
PSEG Solar Source is a subsidiary of PSEG Power, a merchant power generation company which is part of the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) family of companies. PSEG (NYSE:PEG) is a publicly-traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of approximately $11 billion. Its other main subsidiaries are Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), a regulated NJ gas and electric utility and PSEG Long Island.

Disclaimer: PSEG Solar Source LLC is not the same company as PSE&G, the New Jersey based electric and gas utility. PSEG Solar Source is not regulated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. You do not have to purchase any PSEG Solar Source products in order to receive quality regulated services from PSE&G.

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SOURCE Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)