Solar installation isn’t an option for everyone, but renters and homeowners alike can easily switch to a renewable energy provider or subscribe to Community Solar.

All electric utility customers in New Jersey can participate in Community Solar. This is an ideal opportunity for renters, homeowners with shaded roofs, or anyone else that is unable to install their own solar array to participate and benefit from the generation of renewable energy. Learn more.

Renewable energy providers offset your electricity use with renewable energy credits — commonly generated through wind and solar energy installations.

Please note that effective December 2021, the Princeton Community Renewable Energy program ended. To learn more, please visit the municipality’s information about the ending of the contract with Constellation NewEnergy, Inc.

If your municipality does not offer a community renewable energy aggregation program, please follow these steps to switch to a renewable energy provider:

• Make it real. Compare and research the providers. Use the NJ Power Switch website to begin your search.
• Read your contract. Renewable energy plans vary. Many offer a fixed price for electricity per kilowatt-hour for a specified amount of time that can range from 1 to 12 months. Others offer variable rate plans, where the price of electricity per kilowatt-hour can change from month to month. Some include an early cancellation penalty. Before committing to a plan, read the contract carefully.
• Check the source. If you want to invest in the local renewable energy infrastructure, find providers using energy from within our energy market (termed PJM).

When you flip the lights on, do you know where that electricity originates? A coal plant in Kentucky or West Virginia? A gas-fired turbine in Illinois or a nuclear plant in New Jersey? A wind turbine in Pennsylvania? The answer is all of those and more.

The electricity provided through your outlets is actually a mixture of electrons from a variety of sources. New Jersey is a part of the PJM regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, from New Jersey to Illinois and south to Kentucky and Virginia.

• Last year, approximately 3% of the electricity supplied by our utility was generated from renewable sources.
• The majority of our utility’s electricity supply was from nuclear (48%), natural gas (25%) and coal (24%).

• That’s a lotta watts. Princeton’s electricity use accounts for 24% of our community’s greenhouse gas emissions.
• Learn more. The Princeton Climate Action Plan (CAP) identified multiple strategies to reduce emissions from our energy use and increase the supply of affordable, renewable energy.