New Jersey Jewish News
MetroWest Feature Story
Here comes the sun
Two local synagogues go green and tap solar power
Jews may pray for rain, but at Temple B’nai Abraham in Livingston and Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, congregants are planning for sunshine.
Both synagogues are installing solar panels on their flat rooftops with the goal of reducing the amount of fossil fuels they burn. While they expect to save money, both synagogues said they pursued the project out of a commitment to the environment.
“If community institutions devoted to repairing the world don’t take on this responsibility, I don’t know how we can expect anyone else to,” said Rabbi Steven Kushner of Ner Tamid.
Still, it doesn’t hurt that the project costs the synagogues nothing up front and that their bills are expected to drop below what they currently pay Public Service Electric & Gas. That’s because both are participating in Light the Way, a cooperative program created by Greenfaith and Sun Farm Network that relies in part on a generous New Jersey state rebate program.
Greenfaith, established in 1992 as Partners for Environmental Quality, is a New Jersey-based interfaith coalition for the environment that was headquartered at least initially in the office of Pam Frank, then Pam Grand, while she was associate director of the Community Relations Committee of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey. Frank is now director of sales, marketing, and public relations at Sun Farm Network, a for-profit corporation established in 2002 as a solar power company that installs and maintains solar panels in homes and businesses.
Together, Greenfaith and Sun Farm received a grant from the NJ Board of Public Utilities to bring solar energy to houses of worship in the state.
Of 18 houses of worship participating in the project, Ner Tamid and B’nai Abraham are the only synagogues. Ten projects have already been completed, three are in the midst of installation, and six more will begin shortly, according to Frank. A third synagogue in Essex County is considering a proposal but has not made a final decision.
What has made these projects cost-effective is a rebate offered in New Jersey by the BPU, combined with a loan program provided by Sun Farm. The rebate, offered since 1991 (and revised several times since), provides residences, businesses, schools, and not-for-profit organizations between 50 and 70 percent of the cost of installing a solar electric system (see sidebar). It has made New Jersey something of a hot spot for solar power, with over 1,100 solar installations since 2001, the first year the rebates were issued.
B’nai Abraham executive director Gail Milchman said she expects the 432 panels they are installing to generate more energy than the synagogue actually uses, enabling it to use energy credits from PSE&G to pay the Sun Farm bill. But the synagogue says it is not about the money; the adoption of alternative energy sources reflects its commitment to sustaining the environment.
Tracey Bent, facilities manager at B’nai Abraham, estimates that 85 percent of the cleaning products used at the temple are “green” (environmental health- or resource conservation-friendly), and they have switched from paper and other disposable goods to china and glassware for kiddushes and other events. “We realized early on that we wouldn’t be convincing if we suggested this was about saving money,” said Milchman. “We know in the end it will take a long time to repay that initial outlay. But over all those years, we’ll be decreasing our emissions. We want to set an example for the community. We want to show that this can be done. And it’s really exciting to be able to do something with such a great impact on the environment.”
The structure is slightly different at Ner Tamid. There, the panels are expected to generate about one fifth of the power used. The rest will be drawn from PSE&G. Still, the expectation is that the combined bills will still offer a savings.
“This is one of those rare opportunities when the bean counters and the tree-huggers could agree,” said Bob Adler, immediate past president of Ner Tamid.
The temple is installing 240 panels with a power rating of 27.6 kilowatts. That is equivalent to 843,000 pounds of coal and 545,000 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution displacement.
Harvey Morginstin of Bloomfield, a retired engineer who spearheaded the project at Ner Tamid, surveyed seven area churches that have participated. “They all did it for the same reason we are — it’s the ‘green’ thing to do.” He found they all have had “favorable” experiences since the installation and no problems.
The first synagogue to install solar panels was Temple Emanuel in Lowell, Mass., in 1978. Recently, Reform synagogues have begun an initiative to use solar energy to power the ner tamid, the eternal light that shines in their sanctuaries. The move has even spread to Camp Ramah in California, part of the chain of Conservative camps, which is embarking on a $1.3 million solar energy project, thanks to a private donation.
Locally, B’nai Abraham and Ner Tamid are not the only synagogues affiliated with Greenfaith or making a concerted effort to enact measures that make them more environmentally sound. Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, B’nai Keshet in Montclair, and Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell are part of a four-synagogue cohort piloting a Greenfaith project called Greening Synagogues, with the goal of making their practices more environmentally friendly, from recycling to environmental advocacy.
Installation of the solar panels at both synagogues is expected to be completed by the end of April. And that’s good news for the traditionalists, who won’t have to pray for rain again until Simhat Torah.
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