A PROPOSED MICRO GRID FOR THE WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP MUNICIPAL COMPLEX Questions and Answers (March 27, 2017 Supplement) The following is a third set of questions and answers regarding this proposal offered for new questions presented at or since the January 30, 2017 Township Council meeting. This document has mostly been developed from a review of the audio recordings of that meeting. The questions voiced at the January 30, 2017, public hearing and discussions have been organized into seven categories for this submission. It is noted that most of these responses were offered at the January 30 Township Council meeting; however, a few responses were developed subsequent to the meeting. A detailed description of the conceptual project has been previously provided and is posted on the Township website, along with previously posed questions and answers, and some visuals. First category: Details about how would the proposed Solar 4All micro grid project operate Q - Who would build, operate, and maintain this “ Solar 4A ll” micro grid, including the solar panels, the battery storage unit, and electronic controls? A - PSE&G. Q -Would the panels function when covered with snow? A - Solar panels do function even when covered with light snow. Importantly, the ground mounted panels will be angled so any snow accumulations would melt and slide off the panels. Q - How long an outage would the battery stored electricity cover? A- Approximately 4 hours, assuming all three buildings were consuming electricity at peak levels, and longer if electric use was at less than peak levels. Importantly, before the battery stored power was exhausted, a generator (or two generators) would be activated to ensure continuous power availability. Q - Would the wiring for the proposed project be above or below ground? A - The wiring would be below ground, or on the ground within the fenced solar array area, if permitted by codes. Q - Why couldn’t the Township use the electricity generated by the solar panels all the time, rather than buying electricity from PSE&G? A - The intent, design and operation of a system under the Solar4All program precludes this possibility. A system by which the Township could utilize the power from the solar panels would not qualify for the Solar 4All program.
Q - Would there be any possibility that the revenue the Townships receives from the project would decline over time? A - No, the revenue paid to the Township by PSE&G would increase each year based on an escalation clause in the contract. Q - Would the proposed system be able to simultaneously power the supported buildings and add charge to the battery storage module? A - Yes, if array production exceeded demand from the supported buildings. Q - Would the Senior Center be part of the proposed project? A - The initial concept plan did not include the Senior Center or any other Municipal Complex buildings due to the added cost to physically make these connections. The proposal presently includes only the Police, Fire, and FEMS buildings. Developing or expanding the micro grid to include the other buildings at the Municipal Complex would be a future objective to maximize resiliency benefits. Q - What would happen at the end of the lease period? A - The property would be returned to its original condition on final termination of the lease. Second category: Details about the location of the proposed solar array. Q - Instead of placing the solar array in the field behind the fire house, could it be located somewhere else in the township? A - The array must be located close to the micro grid it would power. Locating it elsewhere would require running a dedicated power line from that location to the municipal complex. This is not feasible. Also, the Township does not own any property elsewhere that would permit such an arrangement. Q - Why not place the solar panel on the building roofs, or on a canopy over the parking lot? A - There is not enough roof area to accommodate the proposed array. Roof mounting the panels or constructing a parking lot canopy would make the project infeasible from an economic perspective given all engineering and other complications. The parking lot canopy approach also would be highly visible and require removing all the trees, and reconstructing the lighting within the parking lot area. Third category: Details about any hazards or potential dangers of the proposed approach. Q - If a solar panel breaks, does it release toxins, and make the ground toxic? A - The solar panels are silicon based, and are non-toxic. Q - Would the battery storage component present a fire hazard? A - No.
Q - Would the solar panels create glare that could lead to accidents on road ways? A - No. The panels would be screened with both fencing and vegetation, and angled such that no glare would impact drivers on nearby roads. A review of police reports regarding the claim of accidents at Mercer County College reveal that glare from the solar panels was not a factor or cause of any vehicle accidents. Fourth category: Details on the aesthetics of the proposed solar array. Q - Wouldn’t the proposed solar array be an eyesore? A - The array would be screened with both fencing and vegetation, set well back from roads and sidewalks, and would not be noticeable to passersby. There are only a half dozen residences (on North Post Road) anywhere near the proposed site, with the closest being at least 700 feet distant. These residences all have vegetative (tree line) buffering toward that proposed solar array site. Q - Would the presence of the proposed solar array lead to a reduction of property values nearby, or more generally, in the township? A - The Tax Aassessor for West Windsor has confirmed for Township Council members that there is no basis for any assertion that solar arrays have led to any decrease in property value assessments in West Windsor Township. Fifth category: Legal issues. Q - Can the Township legally use the proposed site for the proposed project? A - It was noted that the proposed site is not encumbered by any open space or farmland preservation restrictions. The Township Attorney indicated that proposed use of this parcel in this manner would be legal. The Township Master Plan does not envision any particular use or need for the property within the 20 year time frame of this project, particularly since the Township purchase of the FEMS building. Sixth category: economics of the proposed project. Q - Would the proposed vegetative screening and/or fencing lead to any diminution in the efficiency of the solar array? A - No. By design neither the vegetative screening, nor the fencing, would impact the efficiency of the solar array. Q - If the Township chose to purchase a generator for the FEMS building, would there be grant money available to help defray the cost? A - The grant money that was obtained to help offset the cost of a generator for the Municipal Building was triggered by Super Storm Sandy. No one is aware of additional grant money being available for such purposes. Q – Has Township explored grant money available for a development of a micro grid? A - Yes. Presently there are not grant available for the construction of a micro grid. There is a grant program for the feasibility study of a micro grid but a West Windsor Municipal Complex micro grid does not meet the scope of requirements of this grant program.
Recommend
More recommend
