Medford Township School District began its solar project in 2005. The system has been active and providing power for a year.
According to operations and maintenance supervisor Joseph Biluck, the project is saving the district approximately $330,000 per year.
The system was installed by a third party through a power purchase agreement and is not owned by the district. Nautilus of Summit, N.J., maintains and is responsible for the system.
“It was one of the discussion points several years ago. We were adamant about the fact that we didn’t want to own the system. It was very susceptible to risk [to own it] and it would be a mistake to take a risk on it,” Biluck said.
Nautilus inspects the system to ensure the efficiency level, runs diagnostics and cleans the panels. The district is responsible for providing the space for the solar panels. The energy is then purchased for a significantly reduced rate, according to Biluck.
Kiosks monitoring the performance of the grid in real time were placed in each school.
“It’s kind of a skewed number. It’s not a direct cost-savings figure. It doesn’t have the current PSE&G rate compared to the PPA,” Biluck said.
Despite its lack of accurate savings numbers, the kiosk provides a visual for staff and students with information that can be translated into class time.
The information has been integrated into the classroom, though there is no specific curriculum based on solar panels — just math and science lessons. The programs are included in the gifted and talented classes, according to Biluck.
“Teachers review renewable energy concepts and why it was important for the district to embark on this program. It gives them what they need to satisfy the curriculum,” Biluck said. “We would like to work on a dedicated energy efficient curriculum the teachers could work with, but we need to carve out the time, so they take bits and pieces and weave it in as they see fit.”
Students spend their day around “green” initiatives, whether they recognize it or not. The district has adopted multiple renewable energy programs.
Medford’s fleet of buses utilizes biodiesel, and Taunton Forge, Cranberry Pines, Kirby’s Mill and Chairville schools use a geothermal system.
According to Biluck, geothermal is a heating and cooling system where the buildings don’t use boilers. Instead, water is heated and cooled from the water in the ground, and compressors heat classrooms. Concurrently, the compressor takes the heat from the building and pumps it back into the ground, cooling the buildings.
“The building itself can become part of the sustainability concept to these students so they understand, and the concepts become more valuable so it doesn’t become foreign to them,” Biluck said.
Currently, the district is exploring a second phase of the project. According to Biluck, the state approved legislation for virtual metering in July.
According to the New Jersey Clean Energy Program’s website, with the net metering program, the electric meter spins forward when electricity flows from the utility into the building, and backward when power flows from the building to the utility.
The stored kilowatts are “netted,” or paid back, on an annual basis.
The metering program is incentive for the district to add another solar system by the transportation center. However, the conditions of the market aren’t good to move forward, according to Biluck.
The panels would be used to offset power costs at Taunton Forge, where the area cannot support panels. The district will watch for an opportunity for the project, according to Biluck.
The efforts to save money and energy have not been lost on the community.
“Our philosophy is we spend a lot of money powering our buildings.
“If we can find an alternative to powering them, we can put that money back into education. That’s what we’re looking to do,” Biluck said. “I think the community at large recognizes and applauds our efforts.”
