Sustainable Jersey – Erin Lannon – 2018

Goals

Sustainable Jersey is a green certification program for municipalities and schools. It also provides support to those communities as they pursue certification. The Jackson Township School District had been certified Bronze in 2017 and was seeking to achieve Silver certifications for 3-6 schools in 2018. Lake Como and Point Pleasant Beach were seeking Bronze certification but had not yet determined which energy upgrades would provide the best return on investment. EDF Climate Corps fellow Erin Lannon was enlisted to help the three communities achieve their goals.

Solutions

Lannon analyzed energy use data and worked with the communities’ Green Teams. It was determined that LED lighting retrofits, HVAC upgrades and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations offered the most promising opportunities for improvements that would help them reach their goals. She applied for energy audits through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) for both cities to determine which projects aligned with their future sustainability goals. Many of the recommended projects were covered under the NJCEP, which provides incentives up to 70% of the installed cost.

She also recommended that Jackson School District develop a Green Challenge which could further promote energy savings through staff education training to increase overall building efficiency.

Potential Impact

Over the course of their lifetimes, Lannon’s recommended projects could save Lake Como and Point Pleasant Beach $15,800 in operational costs. Annually, they could save 86,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 5,700 therms of natural gas and 64 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The Jackson Township School District will save $472,000 in operational costs and over 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Upon implementing the projects both cities could receive an additional 40-80 points toward the required minimum 150, for Bronze certification through the Sustainable Jersey program.