A stretch of capped landfill in Voorhees Township, New Jersey sat empty for years. Nobody built anything on it. Nobody could. Now the site holds rows of solar panels. This landfill solar project is about to lower electric bills for thousands of families who never had a chance to put panels on their own roof.
Who Actually Benefits From This
Most people can’t install rooftop solar. They rent their apartment. Their roof faces the wrong direction. A tree blocks the sun. Or they simply can’t afford the upfront cost. New Jersey’s community solar program fixes that problem. Residents sign up online and get matched to a shared solar array, like the new one in Voorhees. Credits then show up on their monthly electric bill. They never touch a panel or file a permit.
The East Windsor community solar program already proved this model works, cutting bills there by up to 21%. Voorhees now gives South Jersey residents another way in.
How the Landfill Solar Project Adds Up Statewide
Voorhees joins 209 other community solar projects already running across New Jersey. Together they produce 291 megawatts of clean power. State regulators aren’t stopping there. They’ve approved plans for roughly 400 more projects and another 700 megawatts over the next few years. Officials require that most of that new power go to low- and moderate-income households first. Those are the families who feel a high electric bill the hardest.
Real Money Back in People’s Pockets
Since New Jersey launched the program in 2021, residents have saved more than $18 million on their electric bills. Over 51,000 households now subscribe. That’s money families can spend on groceries, school supplies, or rent instead of handing it to a utility company every month.
A Second Life for Wasted Land
Old landfills cause real problems. They can leak methane and contaminate groundwater for decades after they close. Covering one with solar panels turns a liability into an asset. New Jersey gets more clean electricity without clearing a single farm field or forest. And a patch of land that used to just sit there finally does something useful for the community around it.
Homeowners with a usable roof have their own options, too. El Paso’s free solar program has already saved local homeowners $6,748 on average. But for the renters, apartment dwellers, and landfill neighbors who never had that choice, projects like this one open the door for the first time.
Every panel on that old landfill means less fossil fuel burned to keep the lights on. It means less pollution drifting into nearby neighborhoods. And it means a lower number on next month’s electric bill. That’s what real progress on clean energy looks like: not a distant headline, but money back in a family’s pocket. (Story via The Cool Down.)
Leave a Reply