New Jersey doubled solar capacity in the first nine months of 2006.

[NNadir]

Oh wow. Soon we'll have a brazillion solar roofs.

New Jersey has more than doubled its solar capacity in the first nine months of 2006 and now has more than 1840 solar electric systems across the State with over 26 MW of installed solar capacity, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. BPU says a combination of state financial incentives with net metering benefits, electric cost savings, federal tax credits and clean energy credits have driven growth.

Based on its financing model, New Jersey has reduced the payback period for solar installation down to ten years or less. Both business and residential customers have taken advantage of state’s Customer Onsite Renewable Energy (CORE) rebates, which reduce the upfront costs for the installation of renewable energy technologies including solar, wind and biomass by as much as fifty percent. During the first nine months in 2006, New Jersey reports over $46 million dollars in rebates to NJ ratepayers for the installation of over 10 MW of solar photovoltaics. An additional $56 million in CORE rebate commitments were made available by the Board in September bringing the final 2006 budget for the rebate program to $147 million. The Office of Clean Energy estimates that an additional 200 installations representing an additional 5 MW of solar capacity will be completed within the fourth quarter. In comparison, New Jersey installed a total of 9.9 MW of solar capacity from 2001 through 2005, representing a total of $43.9 million in rebates.

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2006/11/14/nj-doubles-solar-capacity-in-9-months/

Now, I'm one of those annoying people who continuously feels compelled to point out that a solar cell produces typically 1/5th of it's total peak power.

New Jersey of course, is often modeled as a state that is working its way to a brazillion solar roofs. Now it has 9.9 Mega"watts" of solar power, and apparently there is no problem here with global climate change.

How much would 9.9 MW of <em>continuous</em> power represent as a fraction of New Jersey's electrical generation capacity?

In 2006 New Jersey proposed to add 1,186 MWe of <em>new</em> natural gas capacity.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/planned_capacity_state.xls

I guess we don't have to worry too much about solar energy driving the natural gas power industry out of business. Too bad...

Don't worry, be happy.