River Edge Schools Could Go Green

District architect Joseph DiCara appeared before the River Edge Board of Education last night to discuss possible energy savings and improvements to both Roosevelt and Cherry Hill schools. Both schools are in need of upgrades and renovations as part of the long-term facility plan.

"The energy saving improvement program, really allows entities to develop energey saving projects that will reduce consumption of energy and your overall budget spent on items, in terms of electicity, gas, oil and water conservation," DiCara said. "The import part of the program is it allows school districts to pay for capital expenses through actual savings generated from the improvements."

As past of the program, districts are able to pay off the cost of the improvements over a 15-year span. Among the energy saving improvements that the district could take advantage of are light sensors to shut the lights off when a room is not occupied, heating and ventilating systems, more efficient air conditioning units, additional installation for the buildings roofs and solar panels.

According to DiCara, the costs are taken out of the general fund instead of going against the annual budget or 2% cap.

If the district decides to move forward with taking part in the Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP), they will have to conduct an energy audit by issuing a request for proposals for an independent energy auditing company. ESIP would reimburse the district for the cost of the audit so long as the district implements portions of the audit's results.

"The audit would give a general cost and broad brush of the state of the buildings and what elements could be improved upon," DiCara said. "Once that's done, an energy savings plan would have to be developed, taking the results from the audit and fine tuning what projects you would want to do."

Once the plan was developed, it then has to be verified by an independent third party to determine that it conforms to the Department of Environmental Protection and Office of Clean Energy procedures. While any improvements are made to either school, each project is monitored to verify that it is done correctly and will bring in the savings that were proposed.

"We're doing several projects currently in Teaneck, which includes 32 energy conservation measures form lighting and occupance sensors, boiler upgrades, roof top unit replacements and solar power," DiCara said. "Teaneck will generate $712,000 in savings annually"

The Board will review DiCara's proposal and make a decision at a future date if they will take part in the Energy Savings Improvement Program.