14 Municipalities and School Districts Receive Grants for Sustainable Energy Projects

Atlantic

$10,000

Atlantic City Public Schools

Atlantic City Public School Energy Teams: Energy Teams will be created in all Atlantic City Public Schools to educate students on environmental issues at school, in the home and to work. The Energy Teams will be part of a city wide effort to help save energy during the Georgetown University Energy Prize competition and beyond.

Atlantic

$10,000

City of Margate

Retrofitting Solar System at Margate Municipal Building:  Will partially fund upgrades to the 76.96 kW solar array system on the Union Avenue School which is required to make the system operational. This building is now the permanent municipal building after damage from Superstorm Sandy caused the city to relocate all municipal operations to the facility.

Camden

$30,000

Borough of Laurel Springs

Cord Mansion Project: Cord Mansion, the original Borough Hall, is undergoing a historically accurate exterior restoration. This grant will support energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.

Hunterdon

$10,000

Readington Township Public School District

Mobile Energy Lab:  A mobile energy lab will be developed for use by the district’s four schools with activities appropriate for students in grades 1-8. The lab will have kits that the teachers can check-out, use in their classrooms and then return. The Energy Efficiency Coordinator will train the teachers so that they know what is available for their grade level and how to use the activities. A ten week elective class for the middle school called “Topics in Sustainability,” will use the students’ accumulated knowledge of energy and conservation.

Mercer

$10,000

Princeton Public Schools

Princeton Energy Avengers for Grades K-12: Energy Literacy will be incorporated into the K-12 curricula. Will provide new tools and resources for a team of K-8 teachers to use in their classrooms and a carefully structured training session to increase the teachers’ knowledge of how to use school energy data in project based learning activities in which students will work on real-world energy issues.

Middlesex

$10,000

Monroe Township School District

Energizing our Future: Six online learning modules on energy sources and energy use will be created. Modules will be shared at each of the eight schools by the green team members. The green team will also present hands on activities related to sustainable energy to students at each grade level. The project will culminate with a Sustainable Energy Tell a Friend Contest which will be open to all classes in grades K-8.

Middlesex

$10,000

Plainsboro Township

Plainsboro Energy Efficiency Building Improvement Project: Will help fund energy efficiency building improvements to two major municipal buildings:  the Recreation and Cultural Center and the Rush Holt Environmental Education Center at Plainsboro Preserve. The improvements include: high efficiency LED indoor and outdoor lighting for both buildings and a five ton water source heat pump and faucet aerators for the Environmental Education Center and Preserve. Both projects have a simple payback of less than 1.5 years.

Middlesex

$30,000

Woodbridge Township

Woodbridge Township Microgrid Study:  Township resiliency will be increased by connecting several facilities throughout the town to establish a microgrid. Microgrids are small energy systems comprising distributed generation and electrical infrastructure that runs parallel to traditional grids. The key advantage is that they are islandable and black start capable when the traditional grid cannot supply power. The grant will be used to  plan and implement preliminary steps to build a microgrid; including a broad range of data collection aimed at identifying categories of facilities that may require power during a blackout.

Monmouth

$10,000

Manasquan Public School District

Wattage Saving Warriors: Will purchase and replace 24 older metal Halide light fixtures with 24 new LED light fixtures in the elementary school gymnasium.

Ocean

$10,000

Long Beach Township

Solarize LBT:  Planning and engineering work will be done for an energy plan to solarize LBT that will support the township’s multi-phase energy-saving plan. Installation of a solar canopy on the new town parking lot is envisioned that will have two electric car charging stations (the EV charging stations are separately funded). The township would also like to install solar on the roof of the municipal complex.

Passaic

$30,000

Wayne Township Public Schools

HVAC Replacement at Pines Lake Elementary School:  Will replace five Airedale electric heat pump/air conditioning units that are over 22 years old, located in five classrooms at Pines Lake Elementary School. These noisy and high decibel inefficient standalone units in the classroom will be replaced with high efficiency three ton 13 SEER heat/cool split rooftop units with economizers and automated temperature controls. Will free up classroom space, increase the Energy Efficiency Ratio from 7.2 to 11.3, remove the noise level from the unit in the classroom, and provide a quieter and more balanced distribution of tempered air conducive to a sustainable learning environment.

Somerset

$30,000

Bernards Township

Sustainable Winter Maintenance: The energy efficiency of the township snow and ice control operations will be improved by equipping four new and existing fleet vehicles with a system called Cirus Controls, an automated system for salt spreading, temperature monitoring, data collection and GPS navigation. By enabling better evaluation and oversight of winter maintenance resources in the township, the system will reduce the amount of salt applied to roadways, cost of winter maintenance, the amount of diesel fuel used by snow removal vehicles and environmental impacts of related activities.

Somerset

$10,000

Somerville Borough

Window Restoration Borough Hall: The windows at Borough Hall will be restored and sealed. Work will include restoration of the wood sashes, sills and seals and the addition of new storm windows to prevent air infiltration and heat/cool loss. Borough Hall (Daniel Roberts House) is an historically designated building by the NJ Historic Preservation Office. Will fund construction and the specifications prepared and inspected by an architect familiar with historic buildings.

Union

$10,000

Berkeley Heights School District

Gymnasium LED Upgrade: Will help fund the replacement of inefficient lighting with LED fixtures in the highest used areas of the two largest schools in the district. The LED fixtures will increase energy efficiency and reduce costs by an estimated 50%. The gyms are in nearly continual use, including during and after school hours, especially for school and community athletics and events.