Officials say BMHS solar panels a moneymaker
Voters must approve Dec. 9 referendum to get $1.25M state rebate
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer
The school district could make at least $84,120 a year if voters approve a $4.7 million referendum next week to install solar panels on the roof of Brick Township Memorial High School.

"The only thing we are asking people to do is vote," Superintendent of Schools Walter J. Hrycenko said at the Nov. 25 Township Council meeting. "It's not going to cost them anything. This doesn't happen very often."

Hrycenko and school Business Administrator James Edwards gave a presentation at the start of the council meeting to explain the details of the Dec. 9 referendum question.

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program recently approved the Brick school district for a $1.25 million rebate to offset the costs of installing crystalline photovoltaic panels on the high school roof, Edwards said.

But the district will receive the rebate only if a majority of the voters approve the referendum question. The opportunity for the 2008 rebate money will end Dec. 31, Edwards said.

"If we do not pass the referendum, we are going to lose that money," he said. "We have to have an election to get that $1.25 million."

The district plans to install a 525 kilowatt solar panel system if the referendum is approved, Edwards said. The state rebate would shave $1.25 million off the total cost of $4,775,782, which would bring the actual cost of the system down to $3,525,782, he said.

The annual debt service for the project would run $162,629 annually on a 20-year mortgage. But when the $246,750 in annual energy savings and revenue from the sale of state solar renewable energy credits are factored in, the project becomes "revenue positive" and would bring in $84,120 a year, Edwards said.

"It's actually cash positive to the district from day one," he said. "As soon as we start using these panels, we start bringing money into the district. We are going to put $84,120.88 into [the] pockets ... of the taxpayers in Brick Township. That's a simple way of presenting it to your neighbors. This is a cash positive referendum."

Edwards based his projections on $350 in revenue for each solar renewable energy credit, a number he said was conservative, since the credits were most recently valued at between $560 and $600 a credit.

"I think that it will be much more than that," he said, referring to the $350 number.

Township Councilman Brian DeLuca said he was "at a loss" to understand why anyone would vote against the question.

"What would be a reason why someone would want to vote no?" he said.

"People don't really understand it's not going to cost them any money," Hrycenko said. "We are going to make some money."

Brick Memorial High School was selected for the project because a new roof was installed in 2007, Edwards said.

"It's a large, flat roof with not a lot of shade," he said. "You want a roof that has a lot of sun all day long and Brick Memorial certainly has that."

The roof has a 30-year warranty and the solar panel system has a 20-year warranty, Edwards said.

"The panels can protect the roof from the sun's rays," he said. "It will actually make the roof last longer."

The school district's architect, Trentonbased Spiezle Group, will be directed to prepare the permits and bid documents for the project if the question is approved, Hrycenko said.

"We will start right away and you will be able to see results hopefully in the spring," Hrycenko said.

Using a solar panel system also has environmental and social benefits, Hrycenko said.T

he system, which will provide all the electricity needed to run Brick Memorial, would reduce fossil fuel consumption and the production of greenhouse gases, he said

School officials have estimated that over a 30-year period, 4,305 tons of carbon dioxide emissions would not be released into the environment. That's the equivalent of planting 1,291 acres of trees and not driving 11,838,750 miles, they have said.

A interactive kiosk will be placed in the high school lobby that will display how much electricity is being generated and how it will be sold to energy companies, Hrycenko said.

"We plan to integrate lessons into our science, math and environmental studies classes," he said. "Every homeowner will be able to log on to the school district Web site and see what is happening with the solar panels."

The polls will be open Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information on the project, visit www.brickschools.org or call the Board of Education at 732-785-3000, ext. 1016.