A Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)(NYSE:PEG) subsidiary expects a ruling by May 31 by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on a plan to boost solar power development in the state.
Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) has reached agreement with BPU staff and certain other parties that provides for investment of $446m over a three-year period and a return on equity of 10%, according to a PSEG presentation to New York City Investors Conference May 21.
Some parties had questioned whether the PS&G effort would be too expensive for ratepayers.
The Solar 4 All extension (S4Ae) agreement would invest up to $247m to develop 42 MW of new solar capacity on landfills and brownfield sites. The program is meant to convert old industrial sites near population centers into renewable energy projects. The program would also develop 3MW in smaller pilot programs.
Meanwhile, the Solar Loan III (SL3) program agreement would invest up to $199m on more than 97 MW of new solar.
The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) announced last month that PSE&G had the most solar capacity of any utility on the East Coast during 2012.
Another subsidiary PSEG Solar Source has completed 69 MW of new solar and has an additional 19 MW under construction. PSEG Solar Source has projects in not only New Jersey, but Delaware, Ohio, Florida and Arizona.
The PSEG presentation also noted that in December 2011 the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) selected PSEG to manage electric transmission and distribution for 10 years starting in 2014. PSEG also figures in the LIPA legislation recently announced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
