Sustainable Jersey – Sabrina Vivian – 2019

Goals 

Sustainable Jersey is a non-profit organization that supports sustainability initiatives for municipalities and school districts across New Jersey, primarily through administering a certification program. Sustainable Jersey enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Sabrina Vivian to consult Barnegat Township School District, Neptune Township, and Borough of Red Bank to assist with re-certification and energy efficiency goals.

Solutions

Sabrina analyzed utility, renewable, and fleet data to determine energy consumption, offset, and emissions metrics. These projects would help the Barnegat Township School District earn certification points from six different Sustainable Jersey energy action items, including a carbon footprint, onsite solar and geothermal energy generation, renewable energy contracts, energy tracking and management, and energy efficiency for school facilities. 

Sabrina assessed energy consumption for Neptune Township and Borough of Red Bank through electricity and fuel usage tracking. She applied for energy audits for several municipal buildings through the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) Direct Install program. Sabrina recommended that the Red Bank Green Team collaborate with New Jersey Natural Gas to kick off a community energy audit program which offers discounted energy audits to local businesses and residents.

Potential Impact

The energy action items documented for the School District could earn each of the six schools 60-85 points towards a Sustainable Jersey certification, for which a minimum of 150 points are needed. Energy assessment calculations found that the School District had a footprint of 4,029 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and currently offsets 21% of its electricity needs with solar energy. The carbon footprint and solar generation energy assessments will help quantify impacts of future energy efficiency projects being pursued through a Local Government Energy Audit.

NJCEP Direct Install energy audits for Neptune Township and Borough of Red Bank have the potential to provide significant financial savings for each municipality through lighting, HVAC, and other equipment upgrades. The energy upgrades at the Neptune Senior Center are estimated to save the municipality $9,338 per year. The Borough of Red Bank will benefit from the community energy audit campaign through city-wide energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions for years to come.