Neptune Community School

SCC Receives $1.04 Million Grant from BPU
For Solar Energy Systems in 4 School Districts

Science Programs in Elizabeth, Newark, Neptune and Phillipsburg
Will Participate in the "Green Building' Technology

Trenton, NJ (February 2004) - The New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) has received a $1.04 million grant from the State Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to provide photovoltaic (PV) power systems - using panels that convert sunlight directly to electricity - and PV technology for the science curricula of four new schools being built by the SCC in Elizabeth, Newark, Neptune and Phillipsburg.

Newark Science Park High School

The new schools - Elizabeth Vocational Technical High School, Newark Science Park High School, Neptune Community School and Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center - were designated for the solar energy funding under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the SCC, BPU and the four school districts.

The cost to design and install PV power systems in each school is approximately $260,000 apiece - for a total of $1.04 million, according to John F. Spencer, CEO of the SCC, whose Board of Directors approved the MOU at its meeting on January 28, 2004.

Spencer noted, "This funding from the BPU will enable us to further New Jersey's conservation efforts by implementing environmentally sound, renewable energy resources in these schools under the 'green building' guidelines.

"I want to commend the officials of the Elizabeth, Newark, Neptune and Phillipsburg school districts who demonstrated, in applying for this program, a willingness to go above and beyond in their efforts to incorporate an environmentally sustainable system and technology within their schools and science curricula," Spencer added.

Under the MOU, the BPU will directly reimburse SCC a maximum $10,000 for each of the four school districts from the federally funded State Energy Program for costs incurred for designing each school's PV power system.

The MOU also commits $1 million from the New Jersey Clean Energy Program - paid by the BPU to SCC - to implement the PV power system in each school. The statewide Clean Energy Program targets $125 million annually toward technologies that save electricity and natural gas and increase the amount of electricity generated from clean, renewable resources.

Under the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act, Governor McGreevey created the SCC, which is responsible for school projects throughout the State. The $8.6 billion program is the largest public construction program ever undertaken by the State of New Jersey and is one of the largest programs of its type ever undertaken in the nation.

Phillipsburg Early Childhood Center

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