Organizations wanting to go green typically install rooftop or ground-mounted solar projects or buy renewable energy credits. But a water utility in New Jersey has embraced a novel approach, installing North America’s largest floating solar project.
Consisting of 16,510 solar panels, the 8.9-megawatt (MW) solar array covers 17 acres of the Canoe Brook reservoir in Short Hills, N.J. The clean power generated is enough to power 1,400 homes annually and will provide approximately 95% of the power needs for New Jersey American Water’s Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant.
Owned and operated by NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV), the renewable energy subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, the array uses an innovative racking system that enables the panels to float on water. According to the project partners, arrays like this offer a novel approach to developing solar and a practical solution to the challenge of finding suitable locations to accommodate large-scale commercial solar installations.
Built mostly on man-made lakes or reservoirs, where tides and saltwater will not impact the solar panels, floating solar projects can turn beneficial use space into clean energy. Floating solar panels can also help reduce evaporation and protect the water source.
“As the state’s largest water and wastewater utility company, it is essential for us to be good stewards of the environment by operating efficiently and in a manner that helps protect our natural resources,” said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water. “This initiative provides a meaningful reduction of traditional energy use that benefits the environment, as well as our customers through limited capital expense and reduced power costs.”
Robert Pohlman, vice president of NJR CEV, added, “Floating solar technology creates new opportunities for underutilized bodies of water, allowing space that would otherwise sit vacant to enable large-scale renewable energy generation, which helps to bring the benefits of clean energy to even more customers.”
Canoe Brook went online in January 2023 and is the second floating solar project in NJR CEV’s portfolio. The first, a 4.4 MW array located in Sayreville, N.J., was placed into commercial operation in 2020.
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