Community Corner

Monmouth County Looks to Cut Costs, Establishes Energy Committee

Committee will develop short and long-term energy plans that may include solar-powered street and traffic lights

In an effort to become more efficient, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a resolution Thursday to establish an Energy Committee.

The Freeholders unanimously approved the resolution that would establish a committee to develop one, five and 10 year energy plans.

“This is an internal county committee that will be looking at short and long term ways to reduce the county's energy consumption and make use of new energy technologies,” spokesperson Laura Kirkpatrick said.

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The Board of Chosen Freeholders aims to have Monmouth County become a recognized leader in New Jersey in energy efficiency, the resolution says. To do so, the County will set "high standards" for energy use and emissions reductions and embed sustainable practices in the community.

“The Committee will look at the county’s use of energy, where we can identify steps for change and develop a plan for moving forward,” Freeholder Gary Rich said.

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The energy plans that the committee will develop will identify and implement actionable steps for achieving coals in energy reduction and associated cost savings.

“I want to stress that the main goal of this is for the county as a business, if you will, to identify changes that can be made in our buildings, vehicles and equipment to reduce our consumption or find alternate sources where possible,” Rich said. “But equally as important, to reduce our costs. It takes a lot of energy to run county buildings, which means equally large utility bills.”

Solutions will be two-fold, both energy and cost saving, Rich said.

“We’ve identified some really good opportunities for us to reduce the cost. Energy is going to be a great place for us to save money in the operation of the county,” Rich said.

So far, Monmouth County has contracted for electric, and will be looking into co-generation and natural generation, Rich said.

“We’re really exploring every avenue to help reduce our costs,” he said. “What we would like to do is share some of these best practices with other municipalities.”

A NJ.com story details a Monmouth County pilot program testing solar-powered LED street lights. Solar-powered street and traffic lights could save the county millions of dollars, cut energy consumption and take a piece of infrastructure off the electric grid.

Street and traffic lights could use solar as a backup in the future, Rich said.

“It seems lately that there’s more issues around electric,” he said, referencing Superstorm Sandy, when many traffic lights were out. “It doesn’t take much.”

Currently, there are two solar-powered street lamps in Monmouth County — one by the County’s Library Headquarters in Manalapan and a second in Freehold in front of the Monmouth County Courthouse, he said.

Energy for the lights is completely generated by the solar panels that are installed on batteries, ultimately eliminating the need for grid-powered electricity, he said.

“This project has solar panels that are designed for maximum efficiency and can generate power even on cloudy days,” Freeholder Director Thomas Arnone said in a May press release. “An off-grid lighting system provides both economic and environmental benefits to Monmouth County as it will eliminate the need to run electricity to the lamp posts and reduce gas emissions related to the production of electricity.”

The committee will consist of representatives from county departments such as planning, buildings and grounds, public works and engineering, Monmouth County Park System and the Reclamation Center.

“We’re open to any other suggestions,” Rich said regarding energy and cost saving projects. “I think we’re making good progress as far as trying to step up.”


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