Hopatcong Schools to Start Solar Power Soon

Hopatcong schools expect more than half of its buildings to be solar-powered in about a week, Director of Grounds Neil Piro said.

Once a liability agreement with Jersey Central Power & Light gets hammered out, the district will be able to flip the switch, Piro said. The agreement is different than usual in that the district doesn't own the solar panels—Sun Edison does—and the district wants the solar company to assume responsibility for maintenance of the equipment, Piro said.

"[JCP&L] wants the customer benefitting from the solar system to assume the mantainance of the system," the director of grounds said. "We're not equipped to do that. The idea was that Sun Edison would operate and manage the system. So the standard form needs to be backed up" and say that Sun Edison will act as the responsible party.

"Our attorneys are working out that language," he added.

Piro said the rest of the system should be turned on near the end of the month. Initially officials hoped the project would end but several obstacles, including weather, slowed progress.

The district hopes to save about $3 million over the 15-year agreement with Sun Edison and SP-One, which plan to sell the district power at a cost of 5 cents per kilowatt hour—or a third of its current JCP&L rate of about 15 cents.

Business Administrator Theresa Sierchio wasn't immediately available for comment.

Most of the solar panels were placed atop School and the , which each received new roofs as part of the deal. The roof replacements saved the district about $600,000, the district said.

The rest of the panels have been placed behind the at the .

will be excluded from the project, which will provide solar power to about 90 percent of the district's buildings, due to its distance from the rest of the district.