Greenbacker Renewable Energy Co. LLC’s (GREC) Mt. Arlington Landfill solar project has started commercial operations. The 2.3 MW DC solar farm produces power for the Borough of Mt. Arlington, N.J.
“Congratulations to all the folks at Greenbacker for completing this project, and to Mt. Arlington for converting a dump into something that can help save our economy and help save the planet,” says U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ 7th District).
Malinowski is co-author of the America COMPETES Act, a bipartisan proposal to help boost domestic manufacturing of essential materials, including solar panels and other clean energy components.
“The energy transition isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have,” states Mehul Mehta, CIO of GREC, emphasizing the importance of investing in renewable energy projects. “We’ve hit a critical juncture where it’s essential to scale the energy transition with projects like this sooner rather than later.”
Greenbacker purchased the solar farm from developer HESP Solar in late 2021. HESP and local officials spent several years coordinating efforts to make the land suitable for redevelopment and transform it into a functioning solar farm.
“This was a blighted property that was turned into a magnificent project to the benefit of our residents,” comments Mt. Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis. “It brings clean energy to the people in our borough, and it puts money back into taxpayers’ pockets.”
Since the solar energy project began producing power for the borough – with whom Greenbacker has a long-term power purchase agreement – it has generated over 1.3 GWh of clean energy, abating 971 metric tons of carbon. That’s roughly equivalent to the emissions from consuming 110,000 gallons of gasoline or burning 1.1 million pounds of coal.
Over the last few years, Greenbacker has partnered with HESP on 17 renewable energy projects. Ten of them are in New Jersey.
