Learning Lessons from Green Schools

New Jersey's public schools have long been test cases for energy conservation and other sustainable strategies; the proliferation of solar panels on school roofs is just the highest-profile example.

In the past two years alone, there have been more than 30 solar projects approved in New Jersey schools, and another 20 proposed.

As such strategies increasingly become economic issues, the state's School Boards Association is launching an unprecedented study of schools' green practices. The goal is to determine where and how they can bring short- and long-term savings and other benefits to existing schools.

The Sustainable Schools Project, costing $300,000 and taking place over three years, aims to cull from schools their success stories and their lessons in not just energy efficiency but also how they teach and set examples of sustainable living in the classroom.

"You hear a lot about new green schools going up, but not very much on what is happening in existing schools," said John Henry of the association's Educational Information and Resource Center (EIRC), which will be heading up the study.

"And not just in energy, but what are the other areas that could bring savings and also improve the education for these children," he said. "We see coming out of this a sustainable how-to, a guidebook of best practices."

The launch of the project comes at a time when the state is re-evaluating its own aggressive clean energy goals, which aim to have 22.5 percent of the state's electricity produced by solar power and other renewable sources by 2020. The big question, however, is whether the state will continue funding clean energy efforts at its current level, expected to cost $319 million this year, an expense borne by gas and electric customers. The bulk of that money, 80 percent in the current funding year, goes to finance projects to reduce energy consumption.

On the economic front, the schools project is growing out of necessity for districts facing ever-growing -- and unpredictable -- annual energy costs.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.