Best Energy/Industrial: New Jersey's Most Powerful Solar Farm
As part of the Solar Act of 2012, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities created a program to encourage solar utility companies and contractors to redevelop existing lands into solar generation facilities. PSE&G acted on this with Solar-4-All, a program set up to convert New Jersey landfills into solar farms. In a 2012 study of 700 landfills conducted by Weston Solutions Inc. and commissioned by PSE&G, the 140-acre Kinsley Landfill was chosen as the most optimal site for solar redevelopment. The landfill was chosen due to its size, relative flatness and proximity to the surrounding neighborhoods.
The company hired general contractor Conti Enterprises to design and build the 11.18-MW ground ballast-mounted solar photovoltaic array system with fiber optic cabling to convert the former landfill into a source of clean energy. The solar farm is spread over 35 acres.