About
Us
Jersey Solar, formerly Jersey Shore Solar, was established
in 1983 as a New Jersey solar energy company specializing
in the design and installation of solar hot water,
swimming pool, and space heating/hydronic systems.
We serviced the New Jersey Shore from Atlantic Highlands
to Cape May, and installed solar energy systems on
550 homes and had a service book of an additional
900 solar homes installed by other solar contractors.
Jersey Shore Solar was also an authorized installer
for JCP&L’s Solar Loan Program, which resulted
in the installation of over 1400 solar water heaters
in their service territory from 1985-1990. We moved
to Hopewell Township, NJ in 2000 and changed our name
to Jersey Solar. Since then, we have been active statewide
in the installation of solar photovoltaic systems
under the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).
Rick
Brooke, president of Jersey Solar, has 27 years of
field experience in the installation and service of
solar energy systems. After majoring in business administration
at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
from 1970-75, Rick began his solar energy career in
San Diego, California in 1976, learning the business
from the ground floor up. He worked as a solar installer
for several local solar contracting companies until
1979, when he left the field to train other solar
installers for the Solar Energy Industries Association
and National Association of Home Builders from 1979-1982.
Rick was one of three instructors who trained and
placed over 150 solar installers in the booming Southern
California solar marketplace.
Moving back to New Jersey in late 1982, Rick started
Jersey Shore Solar, Inc. He became interested in photovoltaics
early on, using photovoltaic modules to operate DC
pumps for solar hot water systems. These photovoltaic
modules, and their original DC pumps, are still operating
today, making lots of hot water for their owners.
Rick installed his first solar electric system on
his home in Lakewood in 1998, purchasing an AstroPower
photovoltaic system with battery backup from GPU Solar,
a joint venture between AstroPower and GPU International.
He also joint ventured with FIRST, a PV systems integrator
and engineering firm, to install systems for Dr. Karl
Boerr, AstroPower’s co-founder, the Liberty
Science Center in Jersey City, and for the Casino
Reinvestment Development Authority. Rick and FIRST’s
president, Lyle Rawlings, became partners in Advanced
Solar Products in 2001, which specialized in the installation
of large commercial photovoltaic systems. Together
they installed systems at Kearny High School, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers(IBEW)offices in
Lawrence Township, the Cordis, Ortho, and Janssen
facilities of Johnson and Johnson, Howell Elementary
Schools 1 and 2, and NJ Natural Gas at their Maude
Service Center. Rick sold Advanced Solar Products,
which he founded in 1991, and focused on Jersey Solar,
which continues to install residential and small commercial
solar electric systems for the NJ Clean Energy Program.
Rick lives in Hopewell Township, with his wife, Theresa,
and three sons, Jesse, Nick and Darby, a dog named
Spicy and a cat named Elvis.
