Every government owes it to taxpayers to take all steps to save dollars on electricity.
Local and county governments can get grants of up to $100,000 a year just for doing something they should be doing -- saving taxpayers money by using less energy.
Burlington County is just one of the South Jersey government bodies looking to take advantage of the state Board of Public Utilities grant program, and taxpayers there should be happy county officials are moving forward.
The county is searching for a consultant to perform an energy audit where every building, every facility is examined, and ways are suggested to use less electricity at those facilities.
The county is also exploring what it will take to install solar panels at the 54-acre county landfill and at the composting and recycling center in Mansfield and Florence townships. The BPU grants are also awarded for implementing energy-saving measures or energy-creating technology such as solar panels.
Burlington County is continuing to be proactive and forward-looking on energy efficiency issues. The county already generates revenue at its landfill with its gas-to-energy plant that turns the methane gas produced by the landfill into electricity which is sold to the Mid-Atlantic Power Supply Grid. The expected yearly profit for that is $1.7 million.
We applaud Burlington County officials for doing more to save money on energy. Every county and municipal government in the state that isn't looking into taking the first step and doing an energy audit needs to make doing so a priority. It's about helping the environment but also, perhaps more importantly, it's about saving taxpayer dollars.
