Three Companies Have Been Selected To Expand Vineland's Renewable Energy Portfolio

(Vineland, NJ, June 23, 2010) – Mayor Romano is proud to announce that utility officials have selected three companies to expand Vineland’s renewable energy portfolio by as much as 12 Megawatts of carbon-free renewable energy, building on Vineland’s aggressive renewable energy goal of reaching 20% of its capacity from renewable energy sources by the year 2015. Currently, Vineland’s portfolio includes renewable energy projects totaling 9 Megawatts including 4 MW’s at Vineland Solar One, 1 MW of behind the retail meter installations and a 4 MW New York Power Authority hydro contract. Once the new projects are completed (Spring, 2011), Vineland’s renewable energy portfolio will total 21 Megawatts. Mayor Romano said, “This project goes a long way in accomplishing our strategy to lead the way to a clean and affordable energy future for the City of Vineland and the State of New Jersey”.

The companies selected for these projects are Community Energy, Inc. from Radnor, PA; CornerStone Power Development from Chicago, IL and NFI Solar, LLC from Cherry Hill, NJ.

Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) has been a leading renewable energy development in the Eastern U.S. since its founding in 1999. CEI first leveraged consumer choice to build demand for early new renewable projects, and went on to deliver wind energy at record scale, including the development of the Jersey -Atlantic Wind Farm in Atlantic City, NJ. CEI is now expanding its efforts into solar energy development. 

CEI has been selected to supply VMEU with 7 megawatts of solar energy supply, at sites that include the Landis Sewage Authority and other land within the City of Vineland.

“The City of Vineland and the State of New Jersey are leading the way towards a clean energy future today. We’re pleased to provide the City with  emission-free power from the sun, which will be there during the warm summer months when energy is priced at its peak,” said Brent Beerley, Executive Vice President of Community Energy, Inc. “Homegrown solar energy creates local jobs and insulates us from volatile oil and gas prices, improving our energy independence, and protecting our environment.”

CornerStone Power Development, LLC is an affiliate of its parent company, CornerStone Partners, LLC which was established in 2001. The principals of CornerStone Power Development, LLC have developed power plants ranging in size from 2 to 1,600 megawatts including coal-fired, natural gas plants with steam generators, combustion turbines, biomass, hydro, wind, and solar plants.  The project will be a solar photovoltaic system 3 megawatts in size located within the City of Vineland and will connect directly into the VMEU’s electric distribution system. According to Dan Walker, Senior Vice President of Development, “CornerStone Power Development is pleased to have been selected by VMEU to provide solar power for Vineland, New Jersey, and we look forward to helping VMEU achieve its goal of providing clean, renewable electricity.”

NFI Solar was launched in 2009 as the tenth business solution under the NFI brand.

NFI is proud of its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative nature and NFI Solar is a perfect fit to fulfill the rapidly expanding areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability.

NFI Solar procures engineers and develops and finances renewable energy projects that focus on solar power. The company also implements energy efficiency practices, technologies and systems which help reduce the carbon footprint. NFI Solar benefits customers and the community by ensuring NFI maximizes their energy efficiency capabilities.

NFI was awarded two megawatts of the total solar power project. These megawatts will be generated in Vineland after the installation of solar panels. As one of Vineland Electric’s oldest customers, NFI is proud to be working with the only generating municipality in New Jersey, as well as participating in such an aggressive plan to lower costs.

“This project represents a significant step in making Vineland Municipal Utility an example of environmental stewardship while at the same time lowering cost to our customers. It’s a win win for the community, our customers and the environment, said Mr. Joseph Isabella, Director of Vineland Municipal Utilities.