Solar power installation on five Aberdeen Township-owned properties is exepected to be completed and operationaly by the end of September, according to a press release issued by the township. The 557,000-KWh solar installation project is being conducted by Nexus Energy Solutions of Lawrenceville. It is  being completed without any expenditure of municipal funds.

“The savings at the five sites, including the Municipal Complex, will amount to approximately $45,000 per year,” said Mayor Fred Tagliarini. “Original estimates were that the installation would meet 70% of the electricity demand at the five sites combined. That estimate is now in the 80% range due to the installation of additional panels."

“The project encompasses a combination of ground, roof and canopy-mounted panels,” he continued. “The most important thing we can emphasize about this installation, besides the sustainability factor, is that there will be no cost to our taxpayers."

The five sites were designated by township officials working with township engineers CME Associates. The Municipal Complex housing the township offices and the Aberdeen Police Department on Church Street includes a combination of rooftop, vertical mansard surfaces, and a raised solar array atop portions of the parking lot. Three of the other sites are pumping stations at Riverdale Drive, Noble Place and Greenwood Avenue, where under-utilized open spaces have been fitted with ground-mounted solar panels. The final location is the Public Works Complex on Lenox Road, arrayed with a combination of rooftop and canopy panels, with the latter installed over recycling areas.

“The process has gone very smoothly,” said township manager Holly Reycraft. “Nexus has been great to work with. The installation process has been very clean and neat. They have been very conscious of our parking problem relating to the raised solar array over the lot, which has turned out to be a spectacular installation. We’ve been asked if that installation is just a courtesy roof for township employee parking, and people are very pleased when we inform them that it is a solar array that will save taxpayer money.”

The solar project is also part of a larger sustainability effort by township officials. “We give a great deal of credit for this project to the Green Team Advisory Committee, formed after the last election, to develop township-wide plans for sustainability,” said Reycraft. “We are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment, everything from this solar installation, to buying ‘green,’ to using leftover laptops from the police department. No effort is too small.”

With the solar installation nearly completed, CME is set to conduct a comprehensive audit of the municipal complex’s overall energy usage, including lighting and HVAC systems. "Our goal is to reduce costs and maintain service for our taxpayers,” said Tagliarini. "We expect that this will be part of a continued series of efforts to embrace sustainability throughout the township."