Whoa. As of this afternoon, Atlantic City will officially be home to the largest PV panel array in the entire United States. In partnership with Pepco Energy Services, the city’s convention center has installed 13,321 panels — enough to produce an amount of electricity equal to about a quarter of the center’s demand. In place for weeks, the system will be commomorated at a ceremony this afternoon. As reported by CNN,

authorities estimate the solar panels will avoid the release of 2,349 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — equivalent to removing 390 passenger vehicles from the road or reducing oil consumption by 4,956 barrels per year. … When the Atlantic City Convention and Visitor’s Authority received its electric bill in January, there was a significant difference from the year before. Despite relatively short days and weak winter sunlight, the panels produced 15 percent of the convention’s center’s power.

Led by Governor Jon Corzine, New Jersey has developed one of the most ambitious solar incentive programs in the country. Check out the latest on these topics here.

The project is interesting (to me, at least) for reasons beyond its gargantuan size. The partnership with Pepco provides a peek into the exciting (!) world of solar project finance. As a public entity, the convention center doesn’t qualify for the 30-percent federal tax credit. Pepco, as a private electricity provider, does. In this particular arrangement — generally referred to as a power purchase agreement, or PPA — Pepco owns the panels, along with all the associated equipment, and sells the power they generate to the convention center. The center benefits (1) by reducing their exposure to price inflation in conventional (retail) electricity, and (2) by hosting a flagship project in a state that strives to lead the country in solar PV adoption. Pepco, meanwhile, gets the 30-percent credit and, one imagines, helps reduce peak loads.

Can anyone think of additional benefits?