GOOD DAY,
SUNSHINE

The Shore is hot on solar energy.

New Jersey is one of the top five markets for solar energy in the world, according to the state Office of Clean Energy director. New Jersey has gone from having six solar-powered units in 2001, the year its Clean Energy program was begun, to more than 1,500 now, said Janeen Lawlor, spokeswoman for the state Board of Public Utilities.

"The demand for the program, across the state of New Jersey, has been phenomenal," said Michael Winka, director of the Office of Clean Energy.

New Jersey now is the second-largest U.S. market for solar energy, behind only California, he said.

The state's Clean Energy program rebates a portion of the cost to install solar roof panels.

Under CORE - Customer Onsite Renewable Energy - solar customers can sell their power to the electric company's power grid whenever their panels produce power more than they use, BPU President Jeanne M. Fox said.

The state also awards renewable-energy credits that consumers can sell to power companies, which in New Jersey are required to buy a certain amount of renewable energy.

By 2020, 22.5 percent of the electricity produced in New Jersey must come from renewable energy, according to BPU regulations approved in April, Fox said. Solar must produce 2 percent of the state's energy by that time.

Solar power-collection is relatively simple.

Material such as silicon is used in them so the sunshine causes electrons to flow across the panel and out through wires, said Richard King, president of American Energy Technologies of Wayne, a solar installation company.

The power coming out of the panels, though, is DC power, which has to be converted to AC power before being fed back into the utility power grid, King said.

Brian Kelly, who owns Sea Bright Solar in Sea Bright, started out in pollution cleanup. By 2003, he decided "instead of cleaning up pollution problems, I figured I'd go into pollution prevention," Kelly said.

Converting sunlight to solar power "is really necessary for our future in a lot of ways," Kelly said. "Environmentally and practically speaking, we need something other than a fossil-fuel base to keep our energy going."

Robert Hassfelt of Oceanport figures he saves $2,000 a year on electricity since he and his wife, Sheryl, had solar panels installed last year.

"It just made complete sense with the rebates that were being offered," Robert Hassfelt said. "I also feel very strongly about the whole green issue. Environmentally, it makes a lot of sense."

Plus, the Hassfelts earn about $2,000 a year more selling their energy credits, he said.

It initially cost the Hassfelts $75,000 to install their solar system, he said. But after the installation rebates, all of which he believes came from the BPU, the system cost them $21,000, he said.

They've had no problems with the technology, Sheryl Hassfelt said.

"It's great. We've had no problems," she said.

"I haven't had an electric bill all summer," Robert Hassfelt said. "I end up with a $2 bill (for the monthly transportation fee). It's real fun to see the meter spin backward."

Businesses who have installed solar also say they're glad they converted to solar.

Jack O'Brien, who owns and manages O'Brien Funeral Home in Wall, said he decided to take his building solar a year ago because it has an almost-perfect orientation and roof pitch for maximum sun.

After rebates, his system cost him $28,000 to install and generates what looks to be about $7,000 worth of electricity a year, O'Brien said.

"I should get a good lifelong run out of it," O'Brien said, because the solar panels have a 30-year warranty. His panels are on the back of the building, so they are virtually out of sight, he said.

"I can tell you that the solar power installation is almost innocuous," O'Brien said. "It's clean, clear, silent and odorless. I don't know what else to say."

Early criticisms about the management of the state program were addressed, Lawlor said.

More New Jerseyans are waking up to the need for alternative power sources, Fox said.

"Fossil fuels are not the way to go," Fox said "We have to do something about it, and we have to do it now.

"The sun is free, the wind is free, and the cost of energy (from oil, gas and coal) is going up," Fox said.

And Winka said Shore residents, especially, are ahead of the curve.

"I will tell you from surveys I've seen, there's more awareness (of the environment) out around the Shore area," Winka said.

"(New Jersey's coast) is the area that's going to be impacted by global climate change over the next couple of years . . . so it's just right that that area should be responding more in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy," Winka said.