Towns, schools former solar energy co-op

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — The city has agreed to enter into a cooperative venture with another municipality and three school districts to investigate going solar.
   The goal is to save money on electric bills by using solar power. To do so, the schools and municipalities intend to form a bigger block of buying power to interest solar contractors.
   An additional benefit in working together is showing the state an attempt is being made to share services, which the governor pushed communities to do during the state budget process earlier this year.
   Mayor David Del Vecchio said, “Under the new world we live in with the state, if we can save 10 percent — that’s an annual number — everything helps us in terms of restructuring our budget, and we are able to exist under new state aid formulas.”
   The city lost about $154,000 in state aid this year. Also, expenses rose, including an additional $10,500 for electricity and other utilities.
   The city’s electric bill is approximately $25,000 a year, according to Mayor Del Vecchio.
   Lambertville Public School’s electric bill is more than $95,000, he said.
   The joint venture will be named the South County Renewable Energy Co-Op.
   In addition to the city and LPS, the members will include West Amwell Township, West Amwell Elementary School and South Hunterdon Regional High School. Also, the Lambertville Sewerage Authority has expressed an interest in joining, according to Mayor Del Vecchio.
   ”The idea is to use all of our collective buying power,” he said. “The state calls it a co-op. It’s really an inter-local agreement.”
   The mayor has been interested in investigating solar power for the city for several years, but he never received any responses from contractors.
   After the other participants approve the formation of the co-op, as the City Council did Monday, the group will hire a consultant and seek grant funding.
   Lambertville will act as the lead agency in the venture, Mayor Del Vecchio said.