Rep. Holt: Economy, security would benefit from alternative energy
MANALAPAN — Small-business owners, looking for breathing room in a sluggish economy, can capitalize on government incentives designed to help them make their buildings more energy efficient, officials said Monday.
The environmentally-conscious moves could save employers money in the long run and jump-start the alternative energy industry.
"There are all sorts of reasons to change," Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said. "Some of those reasons are (that) it's economically advantageous."
Holt sponsored a forum at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, telling nearly three dozen people in attendance that America's economy and security would benefit from a shift to alternative energy.
There are signs that New Jersey is embracing the idea. The state has the nation's second most solar capacity in the nation, behind only California. And the use of solar energy in the Garden State has tripled during the past year, said Joananne Bachmann, renewable energy account manager for New Jersey's Clean Energy Program.
The clean energy program is operated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Some in the audience said they were on board — if they could get financial help. Sharon Brown, president of Environmental & Occupational Safety Services Inc., a Red Bank engineering firm, said her company recently received a contract from the Air Force to make safety harnesses for C-5 aircraft.
To complete the project, she said her company wants to buy the building from its landlord, renovate it and expand.
"It's quite hard right now for small businesses to do these on your own, so you're looking for incentives," Brown said.
Officials highlighted several programs to help convince owners to conserve energy, assess their building for upgrades and look for alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.
The main ones:
— Small and medium-sized companies with a peak electric demand that hasn't exceeded 200 kilowatt hours during the past year can participate in a program called "Direct Install" in which a contractor assesses the efficiency of businesses' heating and air conditioning, electrical and lighting systems.
The state will pay up to 60 percent of the cost of upgrades — up to $50,000 per project and $250,000 per entity, said Douglas Shattuck, senior project consultant for New Jersey's Clean Energy Program.
The money for that program comes from a charge customers pay their utility companies.
— Businesses that convert to solar power are eligible for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates that they can sell, typically to electricity suppliers that are required to support renewable energy. Businesses earn one certificate for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity they produce.
In the third round of what has been a year-long program, the state on Sept. 1 will make available $6.65 million in rebates to consumers who install solar energy systems. Businesses aren't eligible.
Businesses, however, can receive a 30 percent federal tax credit and other tax breaks for converting to solar energy systems.
"The time is now if you are going to consider solar," Bachmann said. "You don't want to wait too much longer."
For more information, go to NJCleanEnergy.com, or call 1-866-NJSMART.
