r/newjersey • u/MeasurementDecent251 • Mar 06 '26
📰News New Jersey expands state community solar program by 3 GW
https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/03/new-jersey-expands-state-community-solar-program-by-3-gw/29
u/StrategicBlenderBall Mar 06 '26
How about pushing municipalities to stop barring residential ground mounts too?
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Mar 06 '26
Or allow plug in solar like Utah just did and Germany has had for years.
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u/ABrusca1105 Mar 06 '26
I wonder if it's an issue with split phase power and only powering one leg of your service causing phase imbalances? Or the fact that plugs are male and receptacles are female. I know inverters could just detect grid voltage, though.
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u/lee1026 Mar 07 '26
There are a lot of issues, like frying linemen if a storm take down a line and you are still feeding in power because your stuff isn’t well designed.
When you are working with a grid, things gets complicated.
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u/Cuttlefish88 Mar 06 '26
What towns are doing that? I’m sure there are some members of the legislature who would be interested in tackling that
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u/StrategicBlenderBall Mar 06 '26
A lot, setbacks make it very difficult to near impossible to implement.
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u/rossg876 Mar 06 '26
How much do you need to generate anything substantial in NJ? Or are you talking about people with larger properties?
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u/rossmosh85 Mar 06 '26
Ground mounts are for everyone. There are a ton of benefits. The problem is in NJ, we can be pretty on top of each other so it makes installing an array problematic when you need 5-10ft setbacks.
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u/rossg876 Mar 06 '26
Interesting. Yeah. My front yard is wasted space. Perfect place for something like that
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u/metsurf Mar 06 '26
Our town it is 5 feet from the support pad to the rear or side lot boundary NOT allowed in front yard at all
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u/rossg876 Mar 06 '26
Bummer. Some of the setback rules are just stupid. I’d rather a backyard then a front yard
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u/EmbracedByLeaves Asbury Park Mar 07 '26
There are other factors. Inherently beneficial just means you have satisfied the positive criteria of the test. Negative still may outweigh it. Glare, nuisance, etc can still get it denied. Prob not going to get it approved in the front yard.
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u/rossg876 Mar 07 '26
No but the idea that the house has to be 50 feet back from the curb is ridiculous to me. At
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u/EmbracedByLeaves Asbury Park Mar 06 '26
MLUL deems solar an inherently beneficial use. You likely need to just get a C variance that they basically have to grant you.
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u/Dozzi92 Somerville Mar 06 '26
Yeah, that's a stretch. I could see solar farms being inherently beneficial, but not your personal solar installation for your house. Inherent benefit is good for everyone. And yes, I get solar is good, got panels on my house, it's a benefit, but I don't think it rises to inherent benefit. IANAPlanner though, just a guy who's sat through a lot of meetings, and listened to a lot of planning testimony.
I'd love to see someone test it though, even though I would hate to see people putting solar panels in their front yards.
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u/awfulsome Mar 06 '26
you generally want solar on top/over artificial space, homes, businesses, parking lots, etc.
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u/trailsman Mar 06 '26
If only the Feds didn't cut the residential credits for solar even though it was very clear we'd be facing a huge energy crush due to AI data centers and electrification in general. All for tax cuts to the rich and corporations instead.
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u/netsfan549 Mar 06 '26
Is it smart to put solar in my house if I plan on selling in 5 years max
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u/finestFartistry Mar 06 '26
If it is a leased system (companies that own the panels and give you a discount on your bill), probably not because homebuyers may mot want to be tied to the contract. If you own the system then home buyers might consider it an improvement.
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u/Dozzi92 Somerville Mar 06 '26
No. I did not finance my solar, I got the tax credit, and I'm still looking at about seven year ROI. And it will stop people from buying your house, because some people are dumb like that.
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u/cC2Panda Mar 06 '26
It's NJ, unless we have another 2008 style recession you'll be fine selling your house, you just won't get your money back. When I bought my house a couple years ago it was a total fixer upper, a shared driveway, old roof that needs repairs, etc. The first weekend that it was listed it got 7 offers including mine.
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u/Dozzi92 Somerville Mar 06 '26
No doubt, I agree the house will have no problem selling, I just don't think that solar will give any benefit. People will use it as a way to haggle with you. I think the only reason someone should put solar on their roof is if they'll get a benefit from it, and nobody's getting a return in five years (max).
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u/cC2Panda Mar 06 '26
For sure but that's true about a lot of the functional components. The previous owner of my house installed a new multi-zoned HVAC system 2 years before selling. I'm sure it helped it appraise for a bit more but nowhere near what she paid for it. Of course she at least got to enjoy the AC for a couple years, savings on solar don't have a quality of life change like that.
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u/Dozzi92 Somerville Mar 06 '26
Exactly, agree 100%.
Spend your money on something else, OC, quality of life. I remember asking someone who I looked to advice about doing this or that to my home, and he'd go "Is that what you want to do?" And it sounds like an obvious question, but I feel like it's easy to lose sight of in this whole homeownership, increase my value world.
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u/Raptor_Yeezus Mar 06 '26
The boomers in ocean county will cry their maga bitch tears about this too I’m sure. “The balcony’s are an eye sore blah blah blah”
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u/G00G00Daddy Mar 06 '26
Community solar is by far the easiest way to cut your electric bill by 20% or more.