Solis Partners has announced the completion of two solar power systems located in the Catholic Diocese of Trenton that spans Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties in New Jersey.

Solis Partners installed a 78.75-kilowatt ground-mounted system for Church of the Assumption, located in the Burlington County community of North Hanover Township, N.J.; and a 155-kilowatt ground-mounted system, located in the Monmouth County Township of Colts Neck, N.J. Construction for both projects, which was recently completed, began in the fall of 2011.

Solis Partners installed the systems under a third-party Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) financing structure that allows the churches to receive all the benefits of solar without any upfront cost. Collectively, the systems will offset approximately 85 percent of the parishes' annual electric usage.

"We are thrilled to have supported Saint Mary's and the Church of the Assumption's efforts in making these projects a reality," said Jamie Hahn, co-founder and Managing Director of the Manasquan, N.J.-based Solis Partners.

"A PPA is a smart choice for non-profit organizations as it enables them to realize the maximum benefits of solar power, a truly renewable source of energy that continues to support their mission for years to come."

The Solis PPA enables businesses, churches and schools to adopt solar for no money down and pay less than they previously had for electricity. The PPA allows the churches to lock in their electricity rates, protecting them from rising energy costs. The Solis PPA is a full service solar solution - including financing, design, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

Under the PPA agreement, Solis Partners will retain ownership of the systems for 15 years, during which time it will maintain and operate the facilities. The clean energy generated will be sold to the parishes at approximately a 75 percent discount to what they were paying their utilities.

This is expected to reduce the churches' electric bills by approximately $600,000 over the next 15 years. After 15 years, the churches will assume ownership of the system, thus receiving free electricity for the remainder of the system's life, which is more than 25 years.

"The church could not have done this project without Solis Partners. They were there every step of the way and in the end provided us with a solar solution that was as economically beneficial as it was environmentally friendly", said Joseph Noble, Business Manager at Saint Mary's.

The combined systems are expected to produce over 280,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first year of operation. This equates to the reduction of more than 375,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, which is the equivalent of offsetting the power demand of 42 residential homes, removing 25 cars from the road or planting 4,500 trees each year.

The solar PV panels and inverters were supplied by the Solar Division of Allied Building Products Corporation. Allied's specialized delivery vehicles simplified the logistics by bringing the equipment directly to the jobsites. Bob Feury, CEO of Allied Building Products Corp., indicated, "We are pleased to have worked with Solis Partners and the churches to supply solar products that help support the production of clean energy at their facilities."