New Jersey company building solar panels on telephone poles

In an effort to create the amount of solar power it generates throughout the state, the largest utility company in New Jersey recently began installing small solar panels on its telephone poles.

Public Service Electric and Gas Company, the largest power provider in the Garden State, is now installing more than 200,000 individual solar panels on poles throughout its coverage area, which accounts for about three-quarters of the state, according to a report from the New York Times. The plan is part of a $515 million investment in solar development by PSE&G, and experts say the pole-by-pole approach can be just as effective as erecting a massive single solar farm.

Currently, New Jersey requires its power providers to get the total electricity generated by solar power to 23 percent by 2021, the report said. PSE&G's panels, if laid side-to-side, would cover about 170 acres, but some residents in towns where they're being installed say they detract from neighborhood aesthetics.

New Jersey is the nation's second-largest solar producer, behind only California, because it offers generous incentives to both residents and businesses that install panels.