Most solar panels on utility and municipal properties power single items, like traffic lights and parking meters. These panels, however, would feed directly into the electrical grid. By selling the electricity into the wholesale market, the utility expects to offset some of the cost of installing the panels.

The project would add about 10 cents to each customer’s monthly bill in the first year and as much as 35 cents in subsequent years. It comes at a time when many renewable energy installations  including those on homes  are being scaled back because of the lack of money or the higher cost of loans.

“We saw how the financial crunch has really brought renewables to a grinding halt, and this is a way to get it back going and a way to make sure all our customers benefit,” said Ralph Izzo, the chief executive of Public Service Enterprise Group, the utility’s parent company.

In addition to raising money by selling the panels’ electricity, P.S.E. & G. also expects to receive a federal tax credit and income from selling the state renewable energy credits that accrue when solar energy is produced.

The bulk of the money for the project, however, would come from new bonds and equity from Public Service Enterprise. Mr. Izzo said he did not expect his utility to have difficulty issuing bonds in the shaky debt markets, and added that the price of installing the panels  about $6.44 for each watt produced  was far lower than just a few years ago.