City Council Passes Solar Panel Ordinance

The city will begin studying potential sites for solar panels after an ordinance was unanimously adopted by the Long Branch Council during its meeting on Tuesday night. 

The ordinance bonds $250,000 for the planning portion of the project.

City Planner Pratap Talwar, of Thompson Design, discussed the potential scope of the project during a council meeting on Feb. 22.

Talwar explained that some feasible sites for the solar panels could be city hall, schools, fire houses, the Long Branch Sewerage and Housing Authorities, public works and "private buildings with large footprints."

At the meeting in February, Talwar explained that Long Branch could possibly get a 1603 tax grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury that would cover 30 percent of the total costs, if the city acted quickly and put a plan together. 

He said the city would have to commit the money for the project by the end of the year.

He said that energy costs are increasing every year, but that the project could save between $1 and $3 million over a 25-year period per megawatt of solar energy produced.