I read with interest your editorial on renewable energy (“You Operate a Power Plant,” TPO, February 2013). We have undertaken many initiatives at the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority’s Pine Brook Treatment Plant to address energy conservation.We have done the obvious such as lighting retrofits, motion detectors to shut off lights in vacant buildings, installing energy-efficient electric motors and variable-speed drives where feasible, and fine-tuning process controls. In addition, we contracted with a third party to install a 0.8 MW solar field on the plant site.
They own the system for 15 years, and we purchase the generated power at a reduced
