New Jersey boasts that its programs make it one of the nation’s leading states in mitigating and combating climate change. The reality of that boast is due, in large part, to the actions and accomplishments of Mercer County officials and departments over the past decade.
Mercer County Community College (MCCC), for example, is believed to be home to the largest on-campus college solar installation in North America. It holds that honor because back in 2011 it was interested in offsetting rising energy costs and using the solar savings to temper rising tuition costs. While the concept of climate change was not the hot-button issue it is today, MCCC also sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-powered plants. And the time was right as a funding mechanism for such a large-scale project was in place.
According to Allan C. Collins, deputy executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority, the college expects the solar installation to generate almost $7 million in savings on its annual electricity costs. And those savings have meant that tons of carbon dioxide gasses have been removed from the atmosphere. Students are given the opportunity to visually appreciate this because the college has installed a real-time counter in the student center that continuously updates the data in this area.
Building on these solar accomplishments, Mercer County is now working with a grant consultant to find new solar funding opportunities, such as solar charging benches throughout the county’s parks.
It should be noted that no one is making that claim that MCCC’s 45-acre solar field is attractive. Combating climate change does have its negative aspects. Much less controversial and definitely more eye-appealing is the county’s reforestation effort.
This endeavor is under the purview of Mercer County’s Park Commission, which reports that since 2010 well over 12,000 trees have been planted and 73 acres have been reforested.
Much of that work has been accomplished since 2018, the year that New Jersey announced one of the nation’s most ambitious clean energy programs. The program includes all aspects of clean energy, including carbon dioxide capture. The county’s reforestation effort falls within this last goal.
The county’s work in reducing carbon dioxide within its borders through tree planting and replacement can be found along Moore’s Creek, Old Mill Road, Rosedale Lake, Baldpate, and the Stony Brook corridor.
This past October Mercer was the only county government in the New Jersey to receive a Resiliency Planning Grant from New Jersey’s Forest Service. The awards are competitive; of the 38 awarded, Mercer County officials can be rightly proud that their grant was one of five that received $50,000, the highest amount.
Through its various departments, the county engages in a plethora of major and minor projects that contribute to a green environment. The county courthouse at 400 South Warren Street in Trenton provides an example of a major project.
Opened a decade ago, it was and remains one of the few county municipal buildings in the state to receive the gold LEED certification. To obtain this certification, a building must address carbon, energy, water, and indoor environmental quality among other measurements.
As far as minor or not readily visible green energy achievements, Mercer County Director of Communications Julie Wilmot reports, “The county has performed energy audits on more than 25 county facilities. While it is a simple fix for a homeowner,” she notes, “the county has tens of thousands of bulbs that we have switched over to LED. This includes the ballpark and park facilities.” These bulbs produce light that is significantly more energy efficient than any other kind of lamp.
“While the LED light bulb swap is paying off,” Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes says, “we have a long-term goal of retrofitting the lighting, lighting fixtures, and HVAC systems to the most efficient available.”
Another goal, Hughes adds, “is to turn over our vehicle fleet. A major step toward that effort would be to perform an evaluation of the fleet to identify which vehicles would offer the greatest reduction of carbon dioxide emissions as well as to examine the cost associated with the introduction of green vehicles.”
Work is already underway in this area. Last summer, Wilmot explains, the county cut the ribbon on 22 new electric vehicle charges. These were partially funded through a competitive grant awarded by It Pay$ to Plug In, New Jersey’s Electric Vehicle Charging Grant Program. The county has applied for additional grant funding to expand this effort.
Mercer County’s efforts with regard to sustainability go beyond work under its purview. The Economic Development and Planning offices, for example, recently hosted two clean energy workshops. These were aimed at businesses throughout the county to not only discuss sustainability but also to review cost-savings opportunities to reduce energy consumption.
“Sustainability is an important component across all county divisions,” Hughes says. He emphasizes the interlocking nature of the various departments in this work. “Our combined efforts go a long way toward reducing our carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels.”
While Hughes notes the progress the county has made in improving the environment and in making the county government more sustainable, he says, “There is, however, more work to do in building on our accomplishments.”
“Among the next steps in our Integrated Climate Action Plan is for Mercer to appoint a sustainability representative from each department and division to our Sustainability Advisory Board to report on actions within their area of expertise.” (Note: appointments were to be announced during Hughes’ State of the County address set for January 24).
“Looking ahead,” Hughes says, “we will continue to identify potential funding sources and create a monitoring process that outlines how we measure the success of each action and plan as a whole.”
