West Windsor and Plainsboro are already known for their environmental efforts, and one can now see the visible efforts of the school district, which has recently installed solar panels at both high schools.
During the June 29 school board meeting, officials discussed progress with the solar panels at High School North and South. While both were installed early last month and are capable of generating electricity, North was awaiting connection to a separate meter to calculate how much electricity is sent back to PSE&G from the solar panels. School officials are also awaiting certification from the Board of Public Utilities so they can begin generating electricity at both schools.
The delay at North was because of questions regarding the shutting down of power to connect the meter, which was originally scheduled for June 29. It was delayed because officials were not sure if a back-up generator could be used while power was shut down for the connection. Officials needed more time to plan, and PSE&G was unable to send out crews on the date.
According to board president Hemant Marathe, the school’s solar panels generate energy to offset their own electricity use, but on hot days where electricity is in high demand and air conditioners in the area continue to run, extra electricity can be sent back to PSE&G for distribution.
“The district gets extra credit above and beyond what we save on electricity,” Marathe explained, referring to solar renewable energy certificates which can be sold. For every 1,000 kilowatt hours generated, the school earns one certificate. “There’s a special meter to monitor how much electricity we are sending back to PSE&G. It has not been installed yet.”
In the 2009 school board elections, part of the budget statement for the public vote included $1,850,000 to be withdrawn from the capital reserve account for a solar project at the two schools. The project did not add anything to the tax burden because the funding came out of the capital reserve.
According to Larry Shanok, assistant superintendent for finance, the board awarded the contract in November, but the state took four months to give the necessary approvals. The panels are now installed, but the connections for the entire system, including the meters, still need to be installed.
“If we can get all the hoops jumped through before October 23, we are eligible for what we qualified for back in 2008, which is $576,500 in solar energy rebates,” Shanok said.
