To the Editor:
Hopewell Township has the opportunity to join an energy collaboration with other towns in Mercer and Hunterdon counties that would increase the amount of renewable energy supplied to Township residents, lower energy costs for electric customers, and fight the PennEast pipeline that is threatening to tear its way through Hopewell Township.
The idea with green energy aggregation, as it’s called, is that towns band together to increase our purchasing power with electricity suppliers. Because there are so many customers bargaining as one, they can buy electric supply at a lower cost—and with a higher proportion of renewables—than would be possible for a single resident on her own (and because aggregation is done with an entire municipality, state law offers greater protections than single residents have when purchasing electricity on the de-regulated market). It’s like shopping in bulk at a warehouse store: because electric suppliers get more customers, they can offer lower prices.
Further, because it decreases the entire region’s dependence on natural gas (see the collaboration with other towns), it hits PennEast where it hurts: it’s wallet. With less demand for natural gas, fewer pipelines that threaten our preserved open space and natural beauty will be built.
The Delaware River Regional Renewable Energy Cooperative will soon be before the Hopewell Township Committee. I urge the Committee to offer Hopewell residents a lower electric bill with a higher proportion of renewable energy in the mix by participating in this program.
Courtney Peters-Manning,
Hopewell Township
Writing only as a resident and not as a member of the Planning Board.
