HOWELL— The Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment has unanimously approved preliminary and final site plans for a 17- megawatt solar energy facility to be constructed at the southwest corner of the intersection of Route 33 and Fairfield Road.
Rock Solid Realty, the applicant, was granted a use variance for the 100-acre site. Ause variance was required because a solar energy facility is not a permitted use at the location, which is zoned for commercial and residential development.
In accordance with state law, the applicant vacated its original approvals for the site before the board members voted on the solar farm at a special meeting held Sept. 19.
Attorney Kenneth Pape, representing the applicant, said economics led to the decision to pursue a solar facility (also known as a solar farm) over a mixed use. Pape said there is no construction date scheduled.
The board’s vote for approval came after two hours of testimony from planning, solar energy and engineering experts regarding visual buffers, security, environmental impact and other factors.
David Sirna, vice chairman, said the new use would be less intense than the original plan for the site, and he said solar energy is a superior use.
“This is an application where there are very minimal, if any, impacts,” Sirna said.
Board members John Armata and Stephen Meier agreed with Sirna’s comments regarding the application.
“[Solar energy] is the wave of the future, and I think that as these [solar] panels come on board, we are going to see them all over the place,” Armata said.
“I’m a big fan of solar power to begin with,” Meier said. “I think they are doing everything they can to accommodate [the neighboring area] with the [visual] buffering.”
Board member Thomas O’Donnell asked that signs be posted at the site to deter trespassing and hunting.
The site will feature a 6-foot-tall chainlink fence behind vegetative buffering. The fence will rise to 24 feet at the road access point on Fairfield Road.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Evelyn O’Donnell, who serves on the Howell Planning Board, raised concerns about drainage in light of recent flooding cause by Hurricane Irene.
In regard to her concerns, Jack Mallon, the board’s engineer, said the applicant “pretty much traps everything [water] onsite.”
Board member Wendell Nanson cited recent media reports of economic troubles with solar energy companies and asked what would happen if solar panel manufacturers or the applicant faced financial trouble.
Pape, referring to a decommission plan required by the Pennsylvania-New Jersey- Maryland Interconnection, the owner of the grid, said nearly all of the materials used for the solar panels are either recyclable or reusable.
According to the plan, the grounds at the site would be stabilized and re-vegetated.
Nanson raised the issue of tax revenue based on the site not being developed as a commercial property.
Pape assured the board that the solar energy facility would be “taxed substantially” due to its revenue stream.
Lloyd Hoffstatter, of Mercury Solar Systems, Port Chester, N.Y., described the solar panels, which will be 2 feet and 8 feet off the ground at their lowest and highest points, respectively.
Hoffstatter also outlined the environmental benefits of the proposed solar facility.
“When the sun is shining, [the energy generated by the facility] can literally run about 1,700 homes,” he said. “It’s a very significant amount of energy that’s being produced. That would be about 14.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide displaced or not produced per year — that’s about 7,300 tons.”
The site will provide habitats for animals through re-vegetation efforts that will take place throughout the property, he testified.
The construction of the solar energy facility will not disturb wetlands that are located throughout the tract, Pape said.
— Contact James McEvoy at [email protected].