Members of the Princeton Environmental Commission last Thursday tackled an unlikely situation that has pitted two environmentally respectable means of energy saving against one another.
It started this summer as the Christ Congregation Church on Walnut Lane worked with the state's Board of Public Utilities to install solar paneling that would offset elevating electricity costs.
The church hit a road block when residents resisted the planned removal of a beloved pin oak tree. The tree removal was to make way for the solar paneling, and, after two denials, a deal for the tree's removal was finally brokered with Borough Council, with a provision requiring the planting of other trees, and a $750 in-kind contribution.
Environmental Commissioners sought to avert a solar panel/shade tree conflict Wednesday as a Princeton University professor and BPU representative offered the benefits of both energy savers.
Henry Horn, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University, said trees could serve as a means for erosion reduction, absorbing potential pollutants, and as energy insulation: having a cooling effect in the summer and warming effect in the colder months.
"The value of trees extend beyond the forest boundaries," he said, adding that he favored solar power as long as it does not compete with a tree.
Michael Winka, director of the Office of Clean Energy at the BPU said solar paneling, too, had its hand in reducing pollutants. "Just about every fuel we use relies on burning energy and creating carbon dioxide," he said, but added that he was "not fond" of putting paneling under trees, adding that solar installation is expensive and would not be valuable if it were not installed for maximum efficacy.
BPU offers up to a 70 percent rebate for solar panel installation, largely as an incentive to prospective users. "If you installed a system without the rebate, it would take close to 30 years to pay off the infrastructure," he said. BPU employs a program offering renewable energy certificates for every megawatt hour generated. In turn, a customer can put a certificate into a trading system with an electricity provider. The BPU stipulates that electricity providers use a certain amount of renewable energy, and companies will "buy" certificates from customers to fulfill that need. "They're giving you some value for that electricity," Mr. Winka said, noting that about 1,900 systems have been installed throughout the state.
About 900 people are "waiting on line" for systems, he added.
The session was geared to serve as the start of a dialogue for the Environmental Commission, which is expected to draft language next month that could eventually translate into a proposed ordinance, offering guidelines for tree removal when related to solar paneling.