Community Solar
Firm personnel have been involved with community solar and energy aggregation for over two decades and have an in-depth understanding of the complexities of community solar.
Upon the establishment of the Community Solar Pilot Program (CSPP) per the Clean Energy Act of 2018, Gabel Associates was deeply engrained in influencing the design of the program to best serve municipalities and public entities in providing savings to their most in-need residents. This included active engagement in stakeholder processes and continuous discussions with the NJBPU on program design elements that can optimize participation. This involvement, combined with our dual understanding of solar development and practical application, has established Gabel Associates as a leading innovator on community solar issues in the State.
Building upon Gabel’s established expertise, experience, and relationships in the New Jersey energy landscape, we have achieved ground-breaking changes in the program design which allow a Community Solar project to exclusively serve LMI customers — above and beyond the NJBPU’s 51% LMI participation requirement. Gabel designed a creative program structure which, through innovations such as competitive contracting to select the best solar developer for the project and auto-enrolling LMI residents, will help residents cut their energy expenses.
Our unique program design has seen success in the form of three awards (out of hundreds of applicants) in the extremely competitive CSPP. Serving as the lead drafter of the applications, in Year 1 of the pilot program, a project managed by Gabel for the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) earned the highest point valued award out of 252 applicants. In Year 2 of the pilot program, two projects managed by Gabel for the City of Hoboken and Township of Pittsgrove were awarded participation out of 412 applicants to the program.
We were also deeply involved in the design of the permanent Community Solar Energy Program (CSEP).
The firm is currently engaged by the Borough of Highland Park, the Township of Manchester, the Township of Princeton, and the Borough of Collingswood to develop Community Solar Programs to serve their LMI populations.
Gabel Associates has also been at the forefront of energy aggregation activities. This includes the development and administration of eighteen (18) successfully awarded Government Energy Aggregation Programs on behalf of 25 municipalities (with more in development), and the management of aggregation programs for over 400 school districts, over 200 municipalities, as well as counties and sewerage authorities.