To accomplish its goal to develop and publish a “Community Energy Plan,” the Township hired The Aubrey Group to collaborate with Michael Burden, Fairfield Township’s Administrator, to develop a plan to meet their specific energy-consumption needs. The Aubrey Group began working with the township in December 2023 and finalized the Community Energy Plan in February 2024.

The NJBPU’s “Clean Energy Program” provides grants to municipalities to research their energy usage and create a multi-year plan for reducing energy consumption, based on a series of seven large-scale strategies and corresponding sub-initiatives. The large-scale strategies provide holistic ways for a municipality to target various sectors of its energy usage, such as “Reduce Energy Consumption and Emissions from the Transportation Sector” and “Maximize Energy Efficiency and Conservation and Reduce Peak Demand.”

An essential component of preparing the Township’s Community Energy Plan was reviewing each of the large-scale initiatives offered by Sustainable New Jersey to determine which were the most relevant for Fairfield, based on the Township’s population size and makeup, geographic location, and existing energy usage habits. To accomplish this, The Aubrey Group scheduled regular meetings with the Township Administrator to discuss each initiative to determine which strategies were the best fit, both in feasibility and effectiveness, and then determine which sub-initiatives the Township would include in the Community Energy Plan.

In drafting Fairfield’s Community Energy Plan, The Aubrey Group conducted thorough research in modern gas and electricity usage within the Township, as well as new methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as building Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and investing in municipal “Community Solar” plans. To create the Community Energy Plan, our team drafted a plan that described each chosen clean energy initiative, split into larger chapters that describe each relevant clean energy strategy. For each chosen initiative, we identified relevant details in carrying out each action, such as potential timelines, civic members involved in carrying out the initiative, sources of funding to accomplish the initiative, a measure of success for each initiative, and relevant community notes that indicate why each initiative is relevant in reducing Fairfield’s greenhouse gas emissions.

To ensure that members of the Township were consulted during the planning process, The Aubrey Group prepared outreach materials to explain the project to Fairfield residents and presented the draft Community Energy Plan during a town council meeting.

After the Town Council approved the draft Community Energy Plan, our team finalized and published Fairfield’s plan in February 2024. Later that year, Fairfield submitted the completed plan to Sustainable New Jersey and won a $250,000 “Community Energy Plan Implementation Grant,” which will be used to carry out each of the initiatives identified in the Community Energy Plan. Through The Aubrey Group’s engagement with Fairfield Township, we have created an invaluable resource that will be used in reducing the Township’s overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring that Fairfield is less reliant on fossil fuels and cleaner for the environment in the coming years.

About the Client: Fairfield Township is a 43.5-square-mile rural community in Cumberland County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the township has 5,546 residents. In 2022, the Township received a $20,000 Community Energy Plan grant through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), which would cover the costs of hiring an external consultant to help the Township develop and publish a “Community Energy Plan.”

Photo Credit: Fairfield Township, NJ Website