Central Regional Goes Solar In A Big Way

On a crisp fall evening the Central Regional School District held a well-attended ribbon cutting ceremony for its massive solar energy project.

The field of over 6,000 panels represents the largest land-based school solar project in the country, according to Superintendent of Schools Triantafillos Parlapanides said yesterday.

A total of 6,123 panels sit on three arrays that are located adjacent to the Central Regional High School and the Central Regional Middle School. Two arrays are located at the high school while the third sits on property near the middle school.

The panels are expected to generate just under 1.8 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy in their first year of operation, according to Kevin O'Shea, district business administrator. This will account for 80 percent to 90 percent of the district's total electric for the year, O'Shea said.

The savings are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Parlapanides.

"At the time the panels were installed, Central Regional was paying (on average) about 16.0 cents per kilowatt hour," O'Shea said. "In the first year of operation, the district will now pay 9.45 cents per kilowatt hour for its energy. This translates into a savings of more than 40 percent. In addition, the price of electricity is locked in at a three percent increase each year for 15 years, meaning the district will not be susceptible to dramatic energy price increases for the foreseeable future."

"The project cost the district about $10,000,000 to build. However, the school dstrict paid no money for the panels because the project was financed through a 15-year power purchase agreement," O'Shea went on to say.

"This will save us 80 to 90 percent on our electric bill," said Parlapanides. "It's phenomenal. I want to thank the board of education. There are leaders, and then there are leaders in getting things done."

Mayor Jason J. Varano, who also attended the ceremony, commended Parlapanides and the Central Regional Board of Education.

"First off, this is about saving taxpayer money," Varano said. "This is also about saving energy...saving our planet. This project does both - conserves energy and saves costs. We don't want to cut any education costs from our school system."

The panels are made in the United States.

"In fact, everything in the project is U.S. made," said Benjamin S. Parver II, CEO of BlueSky Power. "The school has done such a great job with energy efficiency."

Berkeley Township Councilman Carmen F. Amato Jr. also commended Parlapanides and the board.

"It's forward thinking on behalf of the board of education," he said. "They had to think outside the box in order to generate this."

Amato, who is chairman of the township's alternative energy committee, said the township recently signed a shared services agreement with the school district to conduct a feasibility study on solar energy.

Varano referred it to as Phase 2. The township, Seaside Park, Ocean Gate, Island Heights and the Plumsted Township school district will study the feasibility of solar energy under the guidance and direction of the school district.