By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and Princeton Regional Schools are planning a feasibility study to explore the possibility of installing a number of energy-saving solar panels.
The study’s cost of $14,000 will be shared equally among the three entities and will be conducted by Gabel Associates of Highland Park.
The proposed locations include a ground-mounted solar project at the Princeton Sewer Operating Committee landfill site on River Road and roof-mounted/parking canopy solar systems at various sites owned by the township, the borough and the school district throughout the Princeton community.
The proposal indicated that should the municipalities and the school district enter into the agreement, a solar developer would finance, own, design, install, commission, operate and maintain the solar facilities.
”Princeton will realize economic value from the project through reduced power costs from the solar developer,” as stated in the proposal from Gabel Associates. “The developer would sell the output of the solar facility to the Princeton host sites, or in the case of the landfill solar project to the Stony Brook Regional Utility Authority, on a long-term basis as part of a long-term power purchase agreement. The power purchase agreement would also contain operational and financial provisions that protect Princeton from construction, operational and financial risk.”
The study will include evaluating potential sites, identification of general site issues and the project costs, benefits, estimated value of the Solar Renewable Energy Certificates and a financial model that provides the internal rate of return associated with the project, including the evaluation of federal tax incentives and accelerated depreciation, according to the proposal.
