State officials launch $156 million program to set up free home energy system: 'Millions of dollars in energy bill savings'

New Jersey has launched a $156 million program to help state residents access community solar programs, which will lower their electric bills and help our planet, NorthJersey.com reported.

Community solar programs are an increasingly popular way for people who cannot install solar panels on their homes — such as apartment dwellers, renters, people with shared roofs, or people with especially restrictive homeowners associations — to access clean, renewable solar energy.

The programs work by essentially selling subscriptions to nearby solar farms. Not only does this allow people access to an energy source that, unlike oil and gas, does not pollute our air and accelerate the ongoing overheating of our planet, but it also significantly reduces the cost of electricity.

"Not only will community solar help our environment, but it will bring real savings to New Jersey residents and provide good-paying, family-sustaining jobs in the clean-energy economy," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.

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New Jersey's Solar For All program, as it is being called, is being funded via the Environmental Protection Agency's $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which was funded via the Inflation Reduction Act.

The program is intended to help low-income, disadvantaged New Jersey residents who wouldn't have otherwise been able to access solar energy or install it in their own homes.

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State officials expect the program to benefit 22,000 households within its first five years while reducing planet-overheating air pollution by 240,000 tons and creating $250 million in energy bill savings.

"New Jersey's $156 million Solar for All award will result in significant emissions reductions and millions of dollars in energy bill savings, including for thousands of low-income, disadvantaged community households," Christine Guhl-Sadovy, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said at an event at a rooftop community solar site.

While some utility companies have attempted to stand in the way of community solar projects, seeing them as a threat to their profits, the fact that these programs are increasingly getting backing from state governments is a good sign for their future.