Roxbury Schools Pursue Solar Panel Providers

ROXBURY, NJ – A “huge” number of company representatives toured the Roxbury School District recently in preparation for submitting proposals to install solar panels throughout the district, said Roxbury Schools Business Administrator Joseph Mondanaro.

The district is interested in installing solar panels on nearly every flat-roofed building as well as on canopies to be built over the Roxbury High School/transportation department parking area and the Lincoln-Roosevelt School/district office parking area.

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Toward that end, the district on Aug. 9 issued a “Request for Proposals for a Developer of Photovoltaic Systems” and has asked that all proposals be submitted on or before Sept. 10. Mondanaro said the proposed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) project will entail having a company design, build, own, operate and maintain the system.

"They sell all the electricity produced to the host customer (the Roxbury School District)," he explained in an email. "Some benefits of this type of contract versus a direct purchase are: (1) maximization of economic value (2) the district will pay the PPA provider for solar electricity, rather than the utility (with savings) and (3) minimal risk as no capital investment is needed, and we are shielded from operational risk."

On Aug. 16, district officials hosted a “pre-proposal meeting and site tour” of district facilities and “strongly” urged potential bidders for the project to attend. The business administrator said the invitation garnered a lot of interest.

“We had a huge turnout of contractors from all over the United States,” Mondanaro said. “If all goes well, we will see a canopy at the high school and a canopy out here (at Lincoln-Roosevelt School). Any of our flat roofs are going to have solar on them.”

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He said the maximum term for the solar project is 15 years, cut noted that solar arrays typically last for 25 years to 40 years. "At the end of the 15-year contract term, our options are to either remove or purchase the solar," Mondanaro said.

He said a feasibility study was conducted back in May. It showed the solar arrays should result in "favorable savings" to the district. "We could potentially see savings of over $100,000 per year," Mondanaro said. "Over the life of the contract, that could be $1.5 million."

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