#b#Solar On Hold#/b#
The WW-P school district has received $576,500 in rebates for a solar panel project involving arrays on the roofs at High Schools South and North, referred to as the “Phase One” of the district’s solar plans by Larry Shanok, district superintendent for finance. The panels generate 170 kilowatts on the roof at South and 50 kilowatts at North.
Phase Two is on hold as the district has been waiting for state approval to hold a referendum on a $6.4 million bond issue to install solar panels on seven school roofs. The original intent WW-P had was for New Jersey too look it over in doing a bond review, going through the state and voter hurdles by this past April so that “by next winter (2012) we would be generating more energy,” Shanok said.
In October 2009 the district sought IRS-issued Clean Energy Renewable Bonds, or CREBs, which would subsidize $7.5 million of the project, but the state has halted the entire process. Because the bond eligibility is only valid for 36 months, Shanok said time is running out due to the state’s delays.
“Despite the Christie Administration and the state’s apparent interest in solar energy and job creation, they have declined to give us the go ahead,” he said.
Shanok said just five New Jersey school districts have received CREB allocations, but to his knowledge “none of them have been given the go ahead.”
Another factor that will determine the potential to do future projects is the drop in solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) which were valued at a high of $680 a year ago but fell to a low of $151 in August, although they climbed back to the $200-range in early October. Shanok said SRECs were designed to decline in value over a 15-year span, but most people he had spoken to expected that decline to be at 3 percent per year, not such a dramatic decrease as was the case over the past year.
#b#Roof Work Cause for Concern#/b#
Continuing construction on the roof at West Windsor High School South led to concerns over an odor and sound in the vicinity of rooms 250 A, B, C, and D. A few staff members, parents, and students reported the situation to school officials and on Monday, October 3, and construction was subsequently stopped during the school day and has started only after 3 p.m. since then.
The West Windsor senior registered environmental health specialist inspected the building on Tuesday, October 11, and determined that 250A was the only area emitting a slight odor. Gerri Hutner, director of communications for the WW-P district, said that the odor came from the removal and installation of roofing materials. A fan was put in room 250A while the township’s health specialist continued to examine the area.
Since October 11 there have been no reports of the odor or sounds from construction, and no classes have been moved or impacted as a result. The roofing project will be ongoing until at least late November.
