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Premier Power and Chaori plan 3 PV projects in New Jersey worth $27.6 million

Premier Power Renewable Energy and Chaori Solar USA have signed a US$27.6 million agreement, under which they plan to develop utility-scale power plants in the U.S.

Installed solar capacity in New Jersey currently exceeds 530 MW.

Solis Partners

A spokesperson for Premier Power tells pv magazine that a total of three photovoltaic projects will be installed in New Jersey. While construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2012, the plants are expected to be online by the end of the year. Two will be 2.3 megawatts (MW) in size, while the third will be 4.6 MW.

According to a separate statement released, Premier Power will act as engineering, procurement and construction contractor, and will use photovoltaic panels from Sunperfect Solar, Inc., a partner of Shanghai Chaori Solar.

"Our expertise in the U.S. and Europe allows Premier Power to pursue the strategy of providing assets and construction services to respected Chinese asset investment funds like Shanghai Chaori," commented  Dean Marks, CEO of Premier Power. He added that there is an "eagerness to invest" in energy infrastructure by Chinese companies, and hinted that more, similar agreements are in the pipeline.

Willy Chow, CEO of both Chaori USA, LLC and Sunperfect Solar said that Chaori is strengthening its presence in the U.S. via strategic investments, due to the fact that the country is prioritizing renewable energy.

It was recently reported that New Jersey is suffering from an oversupply of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, also called SRECs, due to the "unintended positive consequences of overlapping programs intended to motivate solar generation." In an exclusive interview with pv magazine, Jamie Hahn, senior partner of Manasquan, New Jersey-based Solis Partners said that solar installation capacity in the U.S. state currently exceeds 530 megawatts. He also offered up his suggestions on how the situation could be improved.