Politics & Government
Utilities Authority and County Library to "Go Green"
The WMUA and the Monmouth County Library seek suggestions from the planning board in their plan to install solar panels as their main energy source.
In a world “going green” with tubeless toilet paper and reusable shopping bags, business members of the Manalapan community seem to be doing what they can to help out the environment.
At Manalapan Township's last Planning Board meeting on Thursday, July 14, both the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority and the stood before the board to seek suggestions and recommendations for building solar panels on existing property.
The WMUA’s project would take place on the Pine Brook Sewage Plant. According to Richard Rybak, acting attorney for WMUA, “It’s a project that promotes renewable energy.”
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Allen Malsbury, licensed engineer, said that the area is currently used for holding construction materials and would simply have to be leveled out using soil that is already on site.
Malsbury explained that since solar panels rely on energy omitted from the sun, “during the sunny peak part of the day, we (the WMUA) have the potential of actually exporting power to the grid, which we will then take back during the night when we can’t produce our own power.”
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He went on to say “the environment will be better off because we will be burning less fossil fuels.”
Malsbury suspects that the panels will not bother the surrounding residents, who are located uphill over 300 feet away. The panels will make little noise and will be built facing away from the community, minimizing the probability of glare from the sun.
Board Member Jack Eisner suggested planting wildflowers around the panels because they will help stimulate the area’s ecosystem and make up for the grass that will be killed.
The library’s solar renewable energy project was very similar to that of the WMUA, however, Dobco Incorporated will install the panels on the roof of the library.
Dobco Inc.’s Managing Director Stan Tolstunob said the panels will “save over 40 percent of electrical costs on an annual basis for the next 15 years,” ultimately saving taxpayers’ dollars.
Since both of these are capital projects, there was no vote of approval or denial. Nevertheless, since both projects are beneficial on a community and global scale and contribute little negative effects, the board fully extended their blessing.
