By Myara Gomez
Staff Writer
In conjunction with the College’s sustainability plan, the new solar panels placed in parking lots four and five were powered on alongside a celebration on Wednesday, June 14. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Sundial Lawn.
The solar panels would have been energized and celebrated even sooner, but unfortunately this was not possible due to some uncontrollable issues in the process.
“This project, as was the experience of most participants in the grant program, was delayed by a series of supply chain delays associated with the pandemic,” said Senior Director of Sustainability and Energy Management Paul Romano. “The NJ [Bureau of Public Utilities] grant program provided two separate extensions for this reason and many other projects in the state exercised this opportunity.”
The event did not only celebrate the solar panels in the parking lots but the entire solar system that is located on the roof of several buildings including the Brower Student Center, Armstrong Hall, Packer Hall and Decker Hall.
President Katheryn Foster cutting the ribbon to celebrate the connecting of the solar panels (Courtesy of the Bureau of Public Utilities).
Luke Sacks, the College’s Head Media Relations Officer, said in an email that about 5,000 solar photovoltaic panels were installed. The system that was installed will produce 2,720,000 kilowatts per hour (kwh) annually, according to TCNJ News.
“The new solar system will not simply reduce the amount of energy we need to produce at our powerhouse and the associated cost and emissions of fuel to produce it but equally important serves to reduce our peak demand which reduces the infrastructure and associated costs required to satisfy this peak,” said Romano.
Romano said that the contractor who built the system was EZnergy, who was hired by the developer, Greenskies. The College did not pay for the installment of the solar panels; they were funded by a power purchase agreement with the developer.
“TCNJ entered into what is referred to as a Power Purchase Agreement with a developer who designed, built, and will operate the system for the benefit of the college,” said Romano. The college made no financial contribution, the developer however received rate payer financial incentives and federal tax breaks for the project which offset the cost of the project.”
In this, the developer owns and operates the system while the College receives a lower price for the power system. Even though the College didn’t pay for installment or contribute to any upfront costs, the developer still receives payment just in another form.
“The college will realize in excess of $400,000 savings annually,” said Romano.
According to the email from Sacks, the College decided to partner with Greenskies after a long and intricate vetting process. They went through a short list of vendors that was provided by the New Jersey Department of Treasury.
Installing solar panels is the first step in the College’s plans to reduce their carbon footprint.
“The goal of sustainability is to both increase the capacity of carbon-free energy supply simultaneously with the reduction in energy demand so we may reliably accomplish a carbon-free balance of supply and demand,” said Romano.
In the future, the College looks to expand its sustainability projects on campus. Romano stated that there are projects from campus wide energy efficiency efforts to installing additional electric vehicle charging stations.
“While the new solar system is perhaps the most visible evidence of our progress towards this goal, our efforts to improve energy efficiency on campus are anticipated to provide an equivalent impact on both financial savings and associated emissions,” said Romano.
The College is overjoyed with their new addition to the campus and is eager to see the benefits the campus will receive from this sustainable power source.
