April 27, 2006 - OCUA Awards contract for solar project

     The Ocean County Utilities Authority has awarded a contract to Lighton Industries, Inc. of Lakewood, New Jersey for the construction of a 200 kW direct current (dc) photovoltaic system on the rooftops of the CWPCF Operations, Engineering and Construction, Technical Services, and Central Services Buildings in Bayville, New Jersey.  The roof-mounted solar panels will convert solar energy into dc electric power.  The dc power is then converted to alternate current (ac) power which will be fed directly into the Authority's electric system.  Additionally, solar power system monitoring equipment will be installed that will connect to the Authority's process control computer system to monitor the performance of the solar system as well as calculate the electric savings.  The total cost for this project will be approximately $1.5 million and is expected to be fully operational by February 2007.  The Authority expects to receive construction grant funds in excess of $700,000 made available through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) Clean Energy Program.  The balance of the project will be financed through low interest loans available from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Infrastructure Trust Program funds. The anticipated annual electric savings from this project should pay for the entire project in less than ten years.  The Authority is using this installation as a pilot program to determine the feasibility of installing similar systems at their other plants as well as expanding the solar system projects here at the CWPCF. Additionally, the Authority will get Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) for the energy generated for this project.  The Authority will be able to offset the cost of this project through the sale of the SRECs which are typically on the order of $200 per kW of energy generated.