How can Metuchen’s buildings become dramatically more energy-efficient?

The answer to this question was discussed at a May 4 borough council meeting, when the council voted to participate in the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). Four government buildings – borough hall, the public works building, the library, and the senior center – will be the subject of an intensive audit to determine the structures’ current energy usage and efficiency.

“It is a very beneficial program because it helps us move to greener and more efficient structures where we can hopefully save money on our utilities going forward,” said councilman William Waldron. “The office of clean energy will be subsidizing our municipal audit by 75 percent, and the borough will be obligated to incur 25 percent of costs.”

The NJCEP, which is administered by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), promotes energy efficiency and the use of clean, renewable sources of energy, according to NJCEP’s website. The BPU is a state government agency that works to ensure safe and proper utility services at reasonable rates across New Jersey.

However, it’s possible that the borough may eventually get off the hook for the entire cost of the audit.

According to the program’s publicly described guidelines, the state would study municipal buildings chosen by Metuchen and will reimburse the borough for 75 percent of the study’s cost. The remaining 25 percent may also be reimbursed if the borough implements the study’s recommendations, as long as the cost of the renovation work meets or exceeds that amount. The cost is capped at $100,000 to encourage as many local governments as possible to apply.

Waldron had said at a Nov. 3, 2008 council meeting that “there are some estimates we can save 30 percent year over year [on energy costs].”

As part of the program’s guidelines, Metuchen had to solicit bids for the energy audit from firms qualified to conduct it, and the borough must accept the lowest bid that comes in.

This lowest bid came from the firm of Steven Winters and Associates in the amount of $20,328 for the four buildings, said Waldron.

“Of that, the borough would be financially responsible for $5,082 of that cost,” Waldron said. “There has been some discussion as to whether or not we should include borough hall because it is a newer facility. Unfortunately, the second two pages here show what Steven Winters’ cost per building were,” he said, referring to documents detailing the bid offer.

According to Waldron, if borough hall were not part of the audit, the cost of the entire audit would be $12,498, of which the borough would have to pay $3,125.

In other words, if the borough decided not to include borough hall in the audit, Waldron said that it would save Metuchen “essentially only $1,950.”

“I think the $1,950 differential is an expense well worth undertaking with the goal of long-term savings,” he said, a statement that was agreed on by the rest of the council.

“While we do have a beautiful new building here, I don’t know if we had any baseline studies of the utilities used or how they are used or if the heat functions correctly or what the energy usage is,” Waldron said. “We certainly never had an energy audit before on this building, and the environmental commission has discussed this since they are spearheading this, and they are in favor of including borough hall in this program. Again, the goal is that we are trying to save money over the long term in terms of our utility usage.”

Mark Hertzberg, chair of the Metuchen borough’s environmental commission, added that including borough hall in the audit could ultimately allow the building to serve as a very “exciting” example of energy efficiency.

“Of particular interest, I think there will be nothing more exciting than the possibility of a demonstration project for solar if the auditors see [borough hall] as a viable location,” Hertzberg said the May 4 meeting. “Under a power-purchase agreement for renewable energy, a company would install solar panels, and the town would buy the electricity that would rate cheaper than buying it off the grid.”

“It is very exciting to having these kinds of programs out there,” Hertzberg added. “The critical first step is the energy audit because that gives us the infrastructure to be able to move. It also fits in very well with the actions taken at the last meeting where you folks passed a resolution declaring us a sustainable town in the Sustainable Jersey program.”

For more general information on how you can personally save on energy costs in your own home, please go to EnergySavers.gov.