The town of Princeton has embarked on two groundbreaking solar energy projects С one with the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority on River Road and the other with the Princeton Public Library С that could potentially bring financial rewards, save on energy bills for the participating partners, and promote sustainability by investing in renewable energy. 

“It’s a clear win-win for all parties,” said Council member Bernie Miller. “These are landmark projects for the municipality.”

Mayor Liz Lempert added, “The River Road solar project is a great example of thinking sustainably to make an otherwise unusable site С the old landfill С a source of energy. We’re hoping to be able to do a similar project on the deck of the Spring Street garage by having solar panels there provide energy to the library. It is a prime spot for a solar project in terms of visibility, but we first need to make sure it is economically feasible.”

The River Road enterprise, the municipality’s first venture into a solar energy project, will be constructed on an eight-acre landfill site, according to Planning Board Director Lee Solow. GeoPeak Energy of Somerset is looking to start work later this year and lease the ground for a 20-year term.

“It made most sense to contract out rather than build, own, and maintain ourselves,” said Mr. Solow. “There’s almost no risk for us.” Mr. Solow described the projects as “part of our continuing efforts based on what the community wants to do to be more sustainable. We’ve been looking at various plans to do a solar energy project. We’ve done energy audits on all our facilities, and this is a natural outgrowth of that sustainability effort.”

Referring to both projects, Mr. Miller commented, “We’re working with contractors rather than doing it ourselves to avoid borrowing money and raising taxes to do it. Municipalities should be conservative, willing to accept a smaller reward than we could possibly get otherwise.”

GeoPeak, the successful bidder on the River Road project, is currently seeking final approvals, and Mr. Solow is hopeful that they will construct a site that generates at least 1.5 megawatts of power.

Sewerage Authority executive director John Kontorek explained the anticipated benefits as the project moves forward. “I believe in renewable energy as opposed to buying power off the grid,” he said. “And we’ll save money for our customers: Princeton, South Brunswick, West Windsor, Hopewell Borough and Township, and Pennington.”

Mr. Kontorek predicted total savings of about $100,000 per year. “Also,” he added, “there’s a 1.5 percent price escalator for the next 15 years versus a 2.5 percent increase with PSE&G, our current supplier, so the amount of our savings should increase each year.”

With solar energy supplying 20-25 percent of the energy at the plant, Mr. Kontorek also saw the project as a “win-win situation — doing good for the environment and saving our customers money at the same time.”

On the second project, the Council approved an agreement with the library earlier in the month and will be putting out a request for proposals to determine interest and feasibility, according to Bob Hough, director of infrastructure and operations at the Municipal Department of Public Works. Citing significant recent improvements in solar energy technology, Mr. Hough was optimistic for the future of both projects and he noted that the roof of the Spring Street garage should provide an effective location for the installation of the solar panels.

If successful, this project could reduce energy costs for the library. “There is a question about whether it would be economically viable,” Mr. Miller said. “If we don’t get valid proposals, we’ll know it probably is not viable.”

Library Executive Director Brett Bonfield expressed enthusiasm for the possibilities of the project, which is still in its early stages. “We’re all working towards sustainability and we like partnering with the town on this. Of course, we would like to save money on energy and spend our money on library services or on the collection.”

The library is already a partner with Sustainable Princeton, which holds its meetings there, and it also presents an annual environmental film festival. “We believe in sustainability and work towards it every day,” Mr. Bonfield said. “Sharing resources dovetails nicely with our sustainability efforts.”