Monmouth County Improvement Authority Presents Solar Initiative to Township

The Monmouth County Improvement Authority presented their Renewable Energy Program solar initiative to the Manalapan Township Committee at the public committee meeting Wednesday night at . While the township is currently not looking at solar energy, the is interested in a power purchase agreement.

The initiative is being led by Project Manager Gerard Genna of Birdsall Services Group, Inc. Genna is one of the engineering professionals hired by the county to study the county-wide Renewable Energy plan.

Stephen Pearlman, the energy counsel for the Monmouth County Improvement Authority (MCIA) and partner of Inglesino, Pearlman, Wyciskala and Taylor, LLC out of Parsippany, led the presentation in front of the committee. Doug Bacher, the financial adviser to the MCIA, and Genna were also present.

The Renewable Energy solar initiative spans multiple school districts within Monmouth County, including Howell, Middletown, Marlboro, Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Upper Freehold township and schools, and the Monmouth County Vocational School, although the composite is not complete yet.

These municipalities make up a pool of participants grouped together in order to save municipalities and school districts more money if they are looking to put solar on the municipal or school district buildings, according to Pearlman.

“Right now you have the choice of issuing debt or entering into a power purchase agreement,” Pearlman said.

Pearlman explained to the committee that when a bigger project is presented to developers, better deals are offered. The MCIA is also providing financing for the solar project whereas the power purchase agreement transaction with a developer provides their own financing, which is embedded in the cost of the power purchase rate.

“What we’re hoping to do, which we’ve done in other counties and it’s resulted in savings that generate anywhere from a third to two-thirds off of what the present tariff rate is, is that we would provide our own government lower cost financing,” Pearlman said. “How? The county improvement authority would float debt guaranteed by the county and then that lower cost financing we give to the developer.”

Pearlman could not tell the Township Committee what the price would be exactly because the entire pool must be complete before the MCIA goes out for a request for proposal (RFP).

Since the school board cannot guarantee repayment of the debt, the MCIA must look to Manlapan Township and the Borough of Englishtown to back their guarantee, although much of the financial guarantee would fall on the township’s shoulders. Under state law school boards cannot guarantee improvement authority debt so the school board has to look to the local government, Pearlman explained.

According to Pearlman, the MERS district is interested in participating in this program and if the township is willing to provide the guarantee the school district would be contractually obligated to reimburse the township if there ever was a pull on the township’s guarantee.

Committeeman Ryan Green said that he would like to reach out to the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District Board of Education to discuss this option before considering any action. Green said he wants to know how savings from a solar project will impact the school budget and taxpayers.