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Energy conservation has become a major
priority across the nation with the hopes of reducing
the emission of harmful pollutants and greenhouse
gases. New Jersey’s communities are taking part in
this national endeavor by investing in a number of
“green” initiatives. As of the New Year, 83 Mayors
from New Jersey were part of the over 750 communities
across the country who had signed the US Conference of
Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
New Jersey
ranks second only to California in the number of
municipalities who have committed to this pact. The
Climate Protection Agreement urges the federal
government and US Congress to adopt and enact
legislation, policies and programs aimed at the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Mayors who sign
the Agreement also commit to meeting or exceeding
targets of the Kyoto Protocol within their respective
communities through a number of conservation tactics.
In June 2007, the U.S. Conference of Mayors also
endorsed the EPA’s Energy Star Challenge, which aims
to improve energy efficiency by 10% or more in
commercial and industrial buildings across the
nation.
A good place to begin for Mayors who have
signed on to meet these goals or who simply want to
“go green” with their community operations is to
establish a “carbon footprint.” A carbon footprint is
a measurement of
the total amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse
gases emitted from an individual, an organization, or
in this case, a municipality’s use of products and
services. The footprint can be calculated based on
monthly energy consumption, vehicle use, and other
factors for a total assessed figure.
Once a verifiable carbon analysis is made for you
community, the subsequent goal should be reducing that
figure by at least 10% based on the goals of the US
Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and
the EPA’s Energy Star Challenge.
There are a number of practical steps that
can be taken to make these reductions. First, identify
areas that use high amounts of energy and formulate
solutions to help conserve in those areas. For
example, switching to Compact Fluorescent Lamps in all
government facilities, as well as promoting incentives
for members of the community to use them in their
homes is a simple energy solution with a huge positive
environmental impact. On average, a standard
incandescent bulb lasts between 750 to 1,000 hours,
while Compact Fluorescent Lamps last between 6,000 to
15,000 hours, which is a 91% longer life. In addition,
Compact Fluorescent Lamps consume approximately one
quarter of the power of incandescent bulbs. Consequent
cost savings results from the longer life and
reduction of energy it takes to light the bulb.
Another growing option for many
municipalities is the installation of solar panels on
government buildings. Solar energy is clean,
cost-effective, and in most cases can be installed at
no cost to the benefiting municipality. Vendors in the
solar energy market offer Power Purchase Agreements,
or PPA, in which a third party owner covers the cost
of the system installation and takes full
responsibility for its operation. Then the
municipality enters into a contract to purchase the
system’s power at a predetermined rate from the third
party owner. Built into the PPA is typically a solar
rate escalator, which means each year the rate for the
electricity from the solar system increases in the
range of 2% to 3% irregardless of regular increases in
the wholesale energy market. The result is a clean,
reliable energy source that reduces energy
consumption, costs, and harmful emissions. The Toms
River School District placed solar panels on over
twenty of its school buildings providing the district
with 20% of its electrical needs. The New
Jersey-American Water plant at Canal Road in Somerset,
NJ uses solar energy to power 15% of the plant and
saves $125,000 annually.
Another service that has become recently
available in the energy market is reverse auctions.
All energy consumers have the option to purchase their
electricity from third party vendors as opposed to the
larger wholesale provider. In a reverse auction, these
energy suppliers compete to win a customer’s business.
The process takes place online and begins when an
organization posts a request for energy service bids.
The auction is slated for a specific time and usually
lasts about an hour, during which four or five energy
vendors compete for the lowest bid. The process is
called a reverse auction because the goal is to get
the lowest bid possible, instead as in a usual auction
being the highest bidder. At the end of the hour, the
participant with the lowest bid wins the auction and
is immediately entered into a contract with the
customer. Besides the obvious benefit of achieving
lower energy rates, a municipality has the option of
performing multiple auctions for different components
of its operations. For example, with a number of
buildings in a municipality’s government operations,
an auction can be performed for each individual
building, and service contracts can vary in length of
time. So instead of paying a flat rate for all of
town’s energy consumption, the rates vary in different
areas. Part of the request for service can include a
stipulation that a percentage of the purchased power
be provided from green energy sources. This percentage
can not be high, but 10% green power falls right under
the Conference of Mayors and EPA’s goals.
Reevaluating your municipality’s vehicle
fleet use is another beneficial step with a variety
options. Mayors can increase the fuel efficiency of
their vehicles, reduce the number of vehicles in the
motor pool, switch to bio-fuel, and educate drivers on
fuel efficiency practices. Especially with rising fuel
costs and with the use of diesel vehicles, investment
in this area should be a fiscal priority as much as an
environmental one for any community.
The benefit of these environmentally
friendly steps is that they go hand-in-hand with
fiscal responsibility. It is the goal of every Mayor
and their municipal government to spend wisely and
keep their budget low. Likewise in the recent few
years, “going green” has gone from just an optional,
good idea to an absolute necessity for every
individual and organization in this state and in this
country. Energy costs will only continue to rise in
the coming years, but by investing in environmental
friendly solutions, Mayors can reduce their
community’s spending and reduce carbon emissions in
the process. |
