Solar panels coming to LRHS?

The Lakeland Regional High School (LRHS) Board of Education signed off on a resolution to participate in Passaic County's renewable energy program.

By joining the Passaic County Improvement Authority's (PCIA) renewable energy program, LRHS is on its way to erecting solar panels on school property.

The board took action on the resolution at the July 12 meeting.

The two men who discussed the project with the Board of Education on behalf of the PCIA were Ryan J. Scerbo, a partner with the Teaneck law firm DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick and Cole, and Andy Allbee, senior energy engineer for the Cranford engineering firm Birdsall Services Group.

Located on the rooftop of the school, the solar panels would furnish 25 percent of the school's total electrical needs, "which is significant given the total amount of energy usage," Scerbo said.

LRHS would have to commit 15 years to the solar panels, the longest possible commitment by law. Scerbo explained that the solar panels have a 30-year useful life and a 25-year warranty.

The school will have options as to what to do with the solar panels once the 15 years are up. The primary option is for the developer to dismantle the system at its own cost. The school also may buy the system from the developer at fair market value or extend the agreement.

The school would be eligible to have about a 460 kilowatt (kw) system on the property, according to Allbee. The PCIA recommended a combination of different locations on school grounds, including 270 kw of solar panels on rooftops and an estimated 190 kw in the parking lot.

How much LRHS will save by taking on solar energy will depend on the price rate. For example, Allbee estimated that at 7 cents per kw in power purchase agreement (PPA) price, LRHS would save about $45,000 total for a year.

For LRHS Board Trustee Bruce Gibson of Ringwood, the concerns was that solar panels may get in the way of roof repairs, if the grids are on the roof.

"The only negative I see – the roof they say is OK for this project, but the roof will kind of hit the end of its useful life at that point," Gibson said. "Now, if we have to do repairs and all that structure is up on that roof, it'll make more difficult to fix the roof. We have to take it off … the savings for $30,000 a year for 15 years versus just fixing the roof is a major, major cost. We can eat that all up taking that thing down."

The solar panels would have a warranty and a construction performance bond, according to Scerbo.