French's Landfill Site to Become Solar Farm
Signaling the beginning of the end to one of Brick's most infamous environmental debacles, the township council voted Tuesday to enter an agreement with a developer to construct a solar farm on top of the French's Landfill site off Sally Ike Road.
The landfill, a former Superfund site, operated between 1946 and 1973 as a community garbage dump owned by the Shoreland Corporation, according to township documents. In December 1973, the township bought the property and operated it until 1979, when officials closed the site and covered a portion of it with two feet of soil. Remediation of the property began in 1983 once it was discovered that plumes of hazardous substances were migrating south from the site, and wrangling between the township, federal and state governments over cleanup costs continued through 2008.
Now, the property is ready to be capped once and for all, said Business Administrator Scott Pezarras.
"We're in the process of selecting that contractor," Pezarras said.
Once the cap is in place, Pinelands Development will begin constructing a solar panel field on top of the site that will produce between five and six megawatts of power, officials said. The agreement approved by the governing body Tuesday provides for Pinelands to cover the cost of installation and debt service for solar farm, with the township generating revenue through a land lease agreement with the company.
Pezarras said the final terms of the land lease are still being worked out with Pinelands and figures are not yet available.
The initial lease will call for Pinelands to own the solar panel system for five years, with the township having the option to purchase the operation at the end of the fifth year. If the township does not exercise its purchasing right, it will continue to receive 20 percent of the profits of the energy generated at the site for the following 10 years.
Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said Tuesday's council vote represents "closing the last open sore in Brick Township."
"It's one of those huge steps that I think years from now people will look back on," said Acropolis.
There is no set timeline as to when the solar panels will be installed, since the township must still hire a contractor to place the final cap on the landfill site. Officials hope the power generation station will go live some time in 2011.
40.074173 -74.152517 primary French's Landfill Site to Become Solar Farm Brick Township Municipal Offices 401 Chambersbridge Rd, Brick, NJ /listings/brick-township-municipal-offices-7 1662231 /locations/2533937
By Daniel Nee | Email the author | November 24, 2010
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