District Solar Project Plans Go Before DOE

The solar installation project that the Barnegat school district hopes will soon contribute 20 percent of township schools’ energy needs has moved to the Department of Education for approval, and the district hopes to begin soliciting bids soon, said Barnegat Board of Education Administrator Dean Allison.

The project, overseen by Trenton-based architectural firm Spiezle Group, will outfit all six district schools with solar panel arrays, whether on roofs, atop parking canopies or both, Allison said. It’s part of a larger plan to cut the district’s $1.5 million energy budget in half.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $15 million to 17 million, he said, but because of the way the installations are funded, “we’re not going to pay any of that.”

The lease-purchase deal planned for the project will allow the district to lease back the solar arrays, and the lease amount will never exceed the amount of money the district is saving on energy costs, Allison explained. 

Language ensuring the district won’t get stuck with a bill is built into the bid specifications for the project, he said, so “we cannot award a bid that causes us to pay more in the lease cost than we will save in energy.”

 The panels are designed to last 25 years, so once the 15-year lease is paid, “we get to keep all the savings,” he said.

The first year, those savings are expected to amount to $300,000, $200,000 of which will be paid to cover initial costs.

Once the Barnegat Planning Board has been notified of the installation plans and the DOE has approved them, bidding can begin in early April, but because of upcoming school board elections and spring recess, the Board might not be able to select a winning bid until May, Allison said.