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Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. Customers Made 2023 Another Sunny Year for Solar Energy

  • Orange & Rockland Media Relations

  • Pearl River – April 22, 2024 -- 08:00 AM

Company’s Update Shows Region Also Made Strides in Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles and Clean Heat

 

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) customers in 2023 made the company’s New York-New Jersey service area a cleaner, healthier place to live and work.

Approximately 30 megawatts of customer solar power were added to O&R’s electric system in 2023 through the first quarter of 2024. O&R customers now have completed nearly 14,000 installations with the capacity to produce almost 250 megawatts of electricity since 2001.

In New York, Orange County O&R customers lead the O&R service area in the number of solar installations placed since 2001. Customers there placed about 6,700 installations with a total capacity of approximately 155 megawatts.

Rockland County O&R customers run second with about 5,300 installations since 2001 with a total capacity of approximately 50 megawatts.

In New Jersey, where O&R’s affiliate is Rockland Electric Company, the Bergen County portion of the service area leads the way with approximately 1,042 installations placed since 2001 with the capacity of about 37 megawatts.

The portion of Passaic County served by Rockland Electric Company runs second with 390 installations placed with a capacity of 4.5 megawatts.

O&R Vice President - Operations Won Choe said, “It takes all of us to build a cleaner future, and we applaud our customers for doing their part to help us during this transition.”

He added, “Through our programs and incentives, we look forward to another year of strong, steady progress as we work together with our customers to support New York’s and New Jersey’s clean energy goals.” This information and more is available in Clean Energy Update.

The update is a quarterly snapshot of four important clean energy technologies: solar generation, battery storage, electric vehicles and building electrification adopted by the customers in O&R’s NY and NJ service areas. The data in this update is collected as part of the company’s work to build infrastructure capabilities, programs and incentives that make it easier for customers to install clean energy technologies in their homes and businesses.

O&R and its customers also made progress in the adoption of other clean energy technologies in 2023, according to the update:

  • The company’s POWERREADY Electric Vehicle Program, since its inception through 2023, has incented approximately 275 electric vehicle charging plugs. Those included 261 Level 2 plugs and 14 direct current fast chargers. O&R offers its PowerReady incentives to help speed the region’s transition to electric vehicles.

  • O&R's Clean Heating and Cooling with Heat Pumps program since 2020 has helped building owners install more than 385 air-source heat pump and geothermal systems. These technologies provide electric heating during the winter and cooling during the summer without burning natural gas, oil, or other fossil fuels.

  • O&R and its customers since 2017 have installed approximately 600 battery systems (more than 36 MW) through the Energy Storage program. Customers with batteries charge them during times when demand is not at its highest and power is less expensive. Battery storage also pairs well with solar installations.

As the clean energy future unfolds, O&R is thinking more boldly about its energy system, which is why the company is expanding the electric grid to accommodate new sources of renewable energy and handle increased demand as customers transition away from fossil fuels.

O&R’s goal is to usher in a clean energy future equitably and efficiently so every one of its New York and New Jersey customers can share in the benefits of a more sustainable power grid. That’s also why O&R encourages its customers to consider whether Installing Solar Energy is right for them and tries to make the interconnection process as easy and quick as possible. By generating their own electricity and using less fossil fuel-generated power, customers prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Increasing the use of solar energy – and the other technologies covered in the Clean Energy Update – is consistent with Con Edison’s Clean Energy Commitment.

About O&R

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies. O&R is a regulated utility that provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange and Rockland Utilities) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company), and natural gas service to approximately 140,000 customers in New York.