Bernards Pursues Alternative Energy, Solar Panel Field Construction to Begin Soon

Bernards Township is about to go "greener" with a resolution enabling the Township to sign a contract with Dobco, Inc to build a new solar panel energy field at the sewage treatment plant facility off Martinsville Road.

The contract calls for Dobco to construct an 800-kilowatt field that will provide the electricity for the facility. Dobco was selected as the "responsive, responsible low-bidder" from a bidding process that began on Feb. 25, and the company will complete the project at a cost of $4.278 million to the township.

Sewerage Authority Administrator Peter Messina said the solar panels will provide enough power to fully operate the pumps and motors at the plant as well as provide power to the grid when the pumps are off line.

"We are anticipating that we will save around $135,000 a year in energy costs," Sewerage Authority Administrator Peter Messina said. "When our pumps are up and running and everything is moving we will probably take all of the energy off of the solar panels, and that will supply a good one third of our power."

The township will also be eligible to receive Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) that could net the township another $500,000 a year or more if SREC prices hold.

"It's kind of like commodities," Messina said of the SREC system. "[The price] varies month to month and day to day, but right now it's on $650 per kilowatt." With an 800 kilowatt solar field, the township could bring in a significant amount of revenue from SRECs alone over the 15-year rebate period.

Township Committee member John Carpenter pointed out in the Sewerage Authority meeting on Tuesday that the SREC money is not guaranteed, but he said, "We still think it is a good project without the SRECs."

The solar panel field should be completed by September or October this year, and once complete, township residents will have an opportunity to monitor the energy savings in real time thanks to software from Noveda Technologies.

"We are going to have a 46 inch monitor display in the [Bernards Township] Library," Messina said. "You'll be able to see everything about what the solar panels are producing in real time ... how much energy the panels are producing, what it saves in greenhouse gases, ... how much energy is going into the plant and how much energy is going out of the plant."

The project has been in the works since last year, and was the focus of one of Mayor Scott Spitzer's six initiatives for Bernards Township in 2010. The next steps for the township will be to sign the contract with Dobco and to hire an expert to oversee the project.