Feb 28 2011
Tioga Energy, a renewable energy services providing company, and the Morris County Improvement Authority (MCIA) of New Jersey, have declared the culmination of 19 solar energy installations for 16 schools and government institutions all over the country.
The solar projects received funding from a first of its kind public-private partnership branded as the Morris Model. The installations will generate around 3.1 MW of clean power and save over $3.8 million. MCIA has issued low interest bearing government bonds worth $22.3 million to fund the project.
As the developer of the solar project, Tioga Energy will own the solar installations, operate them, manage their maintenance and will sell the power generated from the installation to the schools and other government departments in the county at a pre-fixed price for a period of 15 years under a power purchase agreement (PPA). The solar systems were designed and installed by SunDurance Energy, a New Jersey-based company.
In addition to utilizing the low interest bearing bond finance provided by MCIA, Tioga Energy also availed the incentives from New Jersey state through the trading of solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) and the federal income tax rebates thus offsetting a major portion of its project investments. The rebates and incentives available for the projects enabled the Morris County to buy the electricity with 35% reduction in price than that of the power supplied by the local utility companies.