A high-rise residential building in New Jersey has gotten a glow-up thanks to real estate developer LeFrak, which installed a 450-panel solar system on its roof, as Electrek detailed.
The 180-kilowatt system at "The Beach" offsets the energy consumed by the multifamily building's common area spaces, including cooling and ventilation — notorious for running up electricity bills. According to the Energy Information Administration, cooling and ventilation account for more than 30% of electricity usage in commercial buildings.
All in all, the $1 million system from Brooklyn-based company Sunkeeper Solar is expected to offset 13% of the high rise's carbon pollution, removing the equivalent of 37 gas-powered vehicles off the road each year.
"Solar makes sense on multi-family buildings, and especially because Jersey City is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, projects like this should become the bar for new development," Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, told Electrek.
"Going solar saves consumers money, reduces air pollution, and creates a more resilient energy grid — solar is a double green amenity," O'Malley added.
Indeed, signing up for community solar can save households around $150 per year on their power bills, while installing your own rooftop panels can yield an even greater return.
Beyond those perks, renters at The Beach's waterfront high rise are surely keen to protect their view and way of life, which is sneakily threatened by heat-trapping pollution from dirty fuels.
Five years ago, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a report on how rising global temperatures are impacting the Garden State. The agency found that sea levels in New Jersey are rising at a higher rate than in other parts of the world, with "sunny day flooding" also expected to increase across coastal communities.
A warming climate has also increased the acidity of the ocean. If the health of the marine ecosystem continues to degrade as a result, it would threaten a commercial fishing industry that brings $100 million to the state economy each year and a tourism sector that generates $16 billion, according to the New Jersey Coastal Management Program.
Moreover, the solar project should be a boon for the developer, as one Electrek commenter pointed out, writing: "Lower building running cost expenses is a huge deal for the overall profitability of such assets."
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Energy independence âš¡ "Cool project," another said. "The Garden State is going green."
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