From NJBIZ:
New Jersey posts mixed labor report in January
The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development is out with the first jobs report of 2025.
“New Jersey’s labor market was mixed in January,” said Charles Steindel, former chief economist of the State of New Jersey, who analyzed the repot for the thinktank Garden State Initiative.
In January, total jobs decreased by 6,100, led by 12,000 jobs shed in the public sector that mainly came at the state level (-10,300). In the private sector, jobs rose by 5,900. Most private sectors reported gains, paced by professional and business services (+3,800) and private education and health services (+1,300).
“The number of jobs in the state is estimated to have fallen by 6,100. However, this includes an odd 12,000 drop in government employment (this cannot be the result of any DOGE activity; federal employment in the state is not large enough for that sort of swing to be at all likely, and, more concretely, the data was collected before the change in administration),” Steindel explained.
“The state’s unemployment rate remained at 4.6% for the eighth straight month (this is not a record for months with no change: New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 9.5% from July 2010 through March 2011),” Steindel continued. “January saw declines of around 4,400 in both the labor force and the number of residents at work.”
Anybody put in rooftop solar on a residential property in NJ?
If so, would you share your approximate specs and costs? Maybe also share what you would have done differently?
^ I should add that I would buy the system and it would be installed on a new roof, with great southern exposrue
crushednjmillenial,
My wife and I had a solar panels installed on our roof (not in NJ). We got a tax credit from the government. We try to use the dishwasher and washing machine when the sun is shining so we‘re using our own power. What we don’t use gets sold to our electric company. It does take a while to recoup your investment.
Yesterday from our lawyer we received a copy of the entry in the deed book for the neighbor‘s house that we bought. We signed the contract with the Notar and the neighbor the first week of December, so that was about 3 1/2 months to complete the process from signing, payment, paying additional government fees, to legally owning it on paper. That seems to be about average for the process.
I see good condition tear-off panels for sale, even complete with the micro inverters for dirt cheap, all the time. Makes me wonder if it’s worth at least a partial DIY (not really legal to grid-tie without an electrician/approvals). If isn’t not huge, you could use a “zero export” grid tie, but it’ll never “run the meter backwards” – s0 good for supporting daily use, below your run rate. You could probably get 2-4kw worth of panels for less than $1000.
For example, 22 Sunpower 210w panels, just in my neighborhood.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1342141793586615?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A92d93314-8077-49e5-9bfe-036bb277514d
You’d probably get payback in 2 years. If you gotta pay top dollar for 100% of the labor, probably too risky to take a chance with used panels.
The sheer number of tear offs is really surprising though. Are people getting these systems installed on old roofs that will need replacement? When that happens, I am assuming those systems are never reinstalled, which is why they are popping up for sale like this?
If I had a few acres, I’d love to do a ground-mount system. Just keep buying dirt cheap panels until I can become my own solar utility.
Nazi car https://x.com/cnviolations/status/1903423918188146735?s=46&t=fOujZk55fmaIKC1jvQBjiw
Here’s the numbers I am seeing:
approx 2,000 sq. ft. roof can easily hold a 18.27 kw system. from solarelectric supply, you can get the panels themselves for about $20k, Hyundai solar panels. So, it seems simple to achieve something like $1.25/watt on the panels.
install cost looks like $15,000 – $20,000. So, all-in for labor and material, I might be able to get in for $40,000.
In NJ, you can generate about 25,000 kwh per year from a 18.7 kw solar panel system.
PSEG charges me approx $0.24 for on-peak and $0.07 per kwh for off-peak, so that blends to 15.5 cents per kwh if even usage across on and off peak. I’m going to use the a approx value of 17.4 cents per kwh. Generating 25,000 kwh per year would replace about $4,350 of electricity cost per year.
I’m estimating 35,000 kwh per year in usage at the property. I.e., I am conservatively sizing the system a bit.
But, if I sized the system up, If I understand correctly, PSEG offers net metering (so, you put power in the system, you get a credit of that unit of power). In high solar utilization states, like CA and AZ, you get a worse credit (you pay retail when you need power but get to reduce that price by the wholesale price of power from power you put into the grid).
So, $4350/40,000 = 10.875%.
That number changes over time because utility price of power goes up (thus, improving ROI), but solar panel efficiency declines (reducing ROI). I think the thing that blows out my number here would be if there was roof leaks but the installation company is out of business and not honoring its warranty. I figure I could karnak the roof leaks, though, myself.
Eggs, $2.99 per dozen.
Next crisis.
grim — re second-hand panels. from what i understand, panels degare by 0.5% or 1% per year. so,even 30-year old panels still have like 70% efficiency, which sounds good at the right price.
I’m surprised low-end rental operators in low-income community are not installing these on low-end rentals. Seems like at these prices, every flat roof should have them installed (retail, warehouse, etc)
I understand that when installing on top of a new roof, one is hoping (as I am), that I install it now and don’t need to think about it for 25 years. One can hope. So, someone in my position may be leery of going second-hand. Might be a good value play, though. Thank you for guidingin me in that direction. I will look into it more as I contiune my feasbiliy analsyis.
Don’t put that chit on your roof. Ask a roofer
I used 850 kWh last month but I have seen it go as high as 1400 kwh with both AC units running full time.
So one Solar Panel a 400 watt one would make 48 kWh running six hours daylight for a month. So maybe 30 panels would power my home completely during peak AC usage times etc.
Rooftop tends to be cheaper way to install them. Ground-mounted solar panel systems usually cost more than rooftop solar if you use a metal mounting systems. You can get however get aluminum ground mounts for around $110 a panel…or adjustable ones for around $190 a panel…
I would not put them on my roof… A solar gazebo or ground mount system… I could run a entire length of panels of my back yard fence line. Panels are 6.5 feet long 3.25 feet wide. So a string of 30 panels needs about 105 ft long. and tilted at 15-40 degrees they would be under my fence line… I would think for about $15,000 you can build a nice new ground mount system and never see an electric bill again.
‘murica.
Roofer will blame the solar panel install when the roof leaks even though he did a shit job when his workers were drunk.
Solar panel installer will blame the roofer when the roof leaks even though he drilled holes and sealed them the wrong way when his workers were stupid.
You will have drips on your head, and a nightmare trying to find someone to fix it correctly.
Ground mount or go home.
RentL0rd says:
Meta & Amazon.
I think you need to move outside your echo chamber.
March 21, 2025 at 8:42 pm
BRT
Pumpkin 6:16 –
So far nobody has shown the ROI – except of course NVDIA.
And, this ai spending is coming at the expense of critical funding in other areas.
No amount of “free electricity” is worth dealing with a roof leak.
Just shower with your wife to save on water and electricity.
Just shower with your wife to save on water and electricity.
Or, your goomod.
Bye Bye tourism to America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbwuaw5_hrg&t=28s
Comments are great:
“The US has become a cesspool of hate.”
“Whatever we thought or were taught about America we must rethink, and accept that the country isn’t what it was.”
“Why don’t they also make a point that detention is a BUSINESS in America. The longer people are kept in detention, the more money the company operating the facility will get. This is a huge factor in the story.”
“In the uZa, money is a religion/religion is money”
“I am from Germany and have small children. So no, we will not be visiting the US in the next 4 years. I do not want my children terrified and traumatized!”
“Seriously people … if you still travel to the Russian States of America and end up in detention, stop whining about it. How many times do you need to be warned. Stop wasting your money in such a hateful country.”
Immigration detention is BUSINESS now in the USA. So it’s nothing about legally or illegally. The detention contract given to private companies. So they detain anyone for business.”
“My brother is a fire-fighter here in Australia who trains other fire-fighters on special equipment. He’s supposed to be coming to the USA in a couple of months but is now reconsidering. He’s travelled to all kinds of places and this is the only time I’ve been worried. Absolutely crazy times.”
“We were planning to go Disney land but already reconsidering, we’re brown skinned so of course red flag for US immigration. I’m terrified to be put in detention and arrested right infront of my kids for no reason other than being brown. US is ruining it’s image on world stage”
“Avoid travel to USA, unless you wane spend your vacation in USA jail. Travel somewhere else”
I was talking to my neighbor this morning. His brother who lives in South Africa is not planning to visut a planned family Jewish wedding event in the US. He said he is afraid because he made comments sympathetic to Gaza on social media.
This is not normal guys. And don’t normalize it.
Chi,
Regarding AI – most of my social circle is gung ho about AI. One good friend is a meta engineer working on optimizing LLMs, and he posts non stop on ai. His avatar is ai generated, his posts and really a big turn off.
In the medical sector that I am a bit closer to, every app is about optimizing the doctor or hospital efficiency while deteriorating patient experience. This, while customer/patient approval rating of medical care is at its lowest ever. If you think you can piss off the customer and make a buck – well, thats not gonna last.
In social media, posts are filled with ai generated cra6p. People are quitting linkedin in droves- but of course microsoft is jot going to reveal its numbers.
Yet ckmpanies are pouring big bucks because they dont want to be “left behind”. Still no ROI.
Sure there are a few business models that will benefit. And there will be some marginal benefit, but this is also happening when there are massive layoffs because of ai – which means less customer spend. So net negative.
There is a word for it in business – cannibalism. Where your proposed new biz model is going to eat your existing model…and can lead to reduced revenue.
Beautiful day! Taking a break from a yard project… I really should not be posting now. But have to ask ourselves – who are we?
https://apnews.com/article/denmark-us-transgender-travel-advisory-c0b533a72f2b22b438e6a4077889fefb
This latest article from futurism is on my side of the AI argument:
https://futurism.com/ai-researchers-tech-industry-dead-end
We are building real time voice translation for healthcare. Obviously heavy on the AI.
Far better than using phone or iPad interpreters.
There are some useful/valuable use cases.
Great, but how much are you spending, and when do you break even?
The article talks about how people are building without real analyses. But sure there maybe a few wins, but not the extent touted.
They said the same thing about crypto. Time will tell.
Rent,
You would have pissed on the spending to develop the internet too with the same logic…that’s exactly what the market did in the .com bust. The market was proven wrong.
The sheer number of tear offs is really surprising though. Are people getting these systems installed on old roofs that will need replacement? When that happens, I am assuming those systems are never reinstalled, which is why they are popping up for sale like this?
My roof needed to be replaced 5 years into it. I have a contract with Vivint (now Sun Run) which basically had them taking them off and putting them back up for $500. Sun Run is a trainwreck of a company. Fortunately, they outsourced their installment to American Solar, a local company who was great. If you look at Sun Run’s contract that they offer now, they try to do a $300 charge per panel on take down and reinstallation. Total scam to try to milk you out of $5000 without realizing.
The quest to create parallel intelligence (LLMs and AI being one step towards it) is like creating an artificial virus in a Wuhan lab – and releasing it in the wild. The parallels are damming but closer than the analogy of the internet.
Should we have had more controls on the Wuhan lab? (I’m not entirely sure if that’s what happened – but for the sake of argument here).
Rentlord,
The real issue is to what use the Quantum Computing/LLM AGI/ Humanoid + Animalistic robotics will use for.
Whether is King Krasnov The OrangeTurd, Krasnov’s boss Putin, the CCP, the Clericalist like Iran or the Libertarian Feudal Tech Lords that are naive enough to think they can buy their way and beat countries with sizable military and nukes. They are all fighting against freethinking principles of the Enlightenment that brought about modern western liberal society.
So you achieve sentient computing. To whom it going to serve. From all the available evidence in front of us is not “ To serve humans” unless you interpret the “To serve human” as the Twilight Zone episode of a space alien recipe cookbook to eat humans.
Within the USA, the safety mechanism that would tripped to prevent the takeover by any group looks failed at this point. As things get desperate with the economy and government is not able to respond because it has been purposely wrecked, you had a taste of it when the DOGExcrement acting director of the Social Security Administration threatened to shut down SSA if DOGExcrement little turds were removed.
It will lead to violence which then Krasnov The OrangeTurd will use it as an excuse to void any constitutional right and do a Tianeman Square or three to exert full power. I don’t think MLK like non-violent passive resistance is in the card.