MATAWAN — The Borough Council authorized engineer T&M Associates to submit an application to the New Jersey Clean Energy Program to participate in the Local Government Energy Audit Program during the Aug. 7 meeting.
“Its all about saving money,” Borough Administrator Louis Ferrara said. “The way it works is a company comes in and they do a complete energy audit to determine what we are wasting money on.”
The audit would note ways to increase energy efficiency, such as installing better windows or a new boiler.
“Once they determine that, they figure out what it’s going to [conserve] in terms of savings,” he said.
According to the New Jersey Clean Energy Program website, the statewide program offers financial incentives, programs and services for New Jersey residents, business owners and local governments to help save energy, money and the environment.
The program is the first step in identifying cost-justified energy efficiency measures for buildings owned by local governments, colleges and universities, and nonprofit agencies.
Ferrara said participation in the program would allow the borough to make some needed upgrades at municipal facilities — at no cost to residents.
“You get all the work done, and it’s paid for with the money you save on your bill. It costs the taxpayers nothing,” he said.
This is the first time Matawan is applying to the program. Although Matawan has not completed an energy audit, Ferrara said recent changes to the Clean Energy Program allow the borough to make minor upgrades such as lighting improvements.
After registering with the state, the borough engineer will go out to bid and select from a list of prequalified auditing firms to develop the energy audit. The program will subsidize 100 percent of the cost of the audit, Ferrara said.
To learn more about the state’s Clean Energy Program, visit www.njcleanenergy.com.