Energy Conservation

[Editor]

More towns using cooking oil as fuel

A cooperative of eight Bergen County municipalities is in talks with North American BioFuels, a Centerport, N.Y., company with technology to turn grease trap waste into biodiesel fuel. The municipalities include Maywood, River Edge, Hackensack, Garfield, Lodi, Paramus, Rochelle Park and Saddle Brook.

[Editor]

Bergen County, 11 other towns to save $1M in energy costs with bulk purchases
Saturday, June 16, 2012    Last updated: Saturday June 16, 2012, 12:37 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

Officials in Bergen County and 11 municipalities figure they will save about $1 million in energy costs this year by pooling their bulk purchasing power and negotiating a competitive rate for electricity.

Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan announced in November that the county was projecting a savings of $330,000 on its utility bill by contracting with GridSmart Energy, a small Boston-based company that analyzed the county's energy usage.

Here are the projected savings on electricity costs for the municipalities participating the Bergen County energy consortium.

Bogota: $22,184
Bergenfield: $28,364
Emerson: $18,700
Hackensack: $214,314
Hillsdale: $18,451
Paramus: $139,556
Teterboro: $23,194
River Vale: $41,479
Waldwick: $34,413
Woodcliff Lake: $41,325
Westwood: $23,445

Total: $605,425

On Friday, she said that number will grow to about $400,000, with an additional $600,000 in savings for the municipalities that joined the county consortium.

Those towns are Bergenfield, Bogota, Emerson, Hackensack, Hillsdale, Paramus, River Vale, Teterboro, Waldwick, Westwood and Woodcliff Lake.

Paramus Administrator Joseph D'Arco said the consortium will save the borough nearly $140,000 this year.

"Any area where we can find efficiencies is a benefit to the taxpayer," D'Arco said.

Seven of the towns are members of the Pascack Valley Shared Services group. Westwood Administrator Robert Hoffman, the chairman of that group, said those towns felt they could get a better electricity rate with the county than with a similar statewide cooperative known as the New Jersey Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting.

"No matter what kind of consortium, it's good when we can come together," Hoffman said. "We're glad that the county went out and did this."

Jeanne Baratta, Donovan's chief of staff, said other towns are talking with the county about joining the cooperative.

Michael Adler, president of GridSmart, said the arrangement is the first time the company has contracted with government entities. Adler said the firm, which began in 2008, negotiates with the companies that supply energy to a utility. So, for example, GridSmart helped the county Department of Public Works seek bids on electricity in September. Integrys Energy Group of Chicago submitted a low bid of 8.43 cents per kilowatt hour. The low bidder, in turn, pays GridSmart a commission.

Donovan said the county is now looking at adopting a similar program for the bulk purchase of natural gas. She expects a contract to be executed later this month.

Email: ensslin@northjersey.com

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