New solar portfolio will offset 21% of electricity for New Jersey school district
Greenskies Clean Focus has announced the completion of seven rooftop solar systems totaling 3.31 MW for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District.
Greenskies partnered with EPC Pfister Energy, based in Hawthorne, New Jersey, to install more than 8,600 solar panels on rooftops:
- Dutch Neck Elementary School (108.57 kW)
- Morris Hawke Elementary School (487.02 kW)
- Millstone River School (198.27 kW)
- Village school (503.195 kW)
- Thomas R. Grover Middle School (790.79 kW)
- North High School (693.00 kW)
- High School South (534.38 kW)
These solar projects are made possible by a 15-year solar power purchase agreement with Greenskies. PPA agreements allow the school district to install solar energy for free and purchase the electricity generated by the systems at a lower rate compared to traditional utility rates.
“Greenskies is pleased to provide West Windsor-Plainsboro RSD with a low, fixed-rate PPA,” said Greenskies President and CEO Stanley Chin. “Protecting the district’s budget from unpredictable utility rate increases for the next fifteen years creates beneficial stability that will benefit students while advancing renewable energy access and sustainability goals.”
According to Schneider Electric, the district’s energy services company, the solar arrays will generate enough clean, renewable energy to offset approximately 21% of the school’s annual electricity use, resulting in more than $3,500,000 in savings over the life of the systems.
“These solar PV systems will not only reduce costs now, but also protect the neighborhood from future power price increases,” said Dan Riggle, Schneider Electric project manager. “Having a PPA electricity rate approved for the next 15 years provides budget certainty for the West Windsor-Plainsboro RSD, which is especially important given the rising prices we see in many aspects of life today.”
These solar PPAs are part of a larger Energy Efficiency Improvement Program (ESIP) developed by Schneider Electric. This ESIP has allowed West Windsor-Plainsboro to implement more than $30 million in school facility improvements such as new LED lighting and HVAC systems through cost savings, funding and grants/rebates. Solar consultant Talva Energy assisted in the development and coordination of the solar PPA RFP from pre-construction to successful competition.
“These solar projects provide our district and community with significant cost savings and improve the environmental impact of our schools,” said Dr. David Aderhold, superintendent of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. “We are doing our part to educate and model environmentally conscious behavior for our students while helping to create a better world for their future.”
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