Solar Deals Could Provide 100 Percent of Bernards' Power

Somerset County's installation of solar panels on the roof of the township's Department of Public Works building was ready to go online Tuesday, Township Administrator Bruce McArthur told the Township Committee that night, but an even bigger solar project is on the horizon.

The installation of a although approved by the committee more than a year ago, is held up waiting for changes in state regulations, McArthur told committee members at Tuesday's meeting.

But the good news, he said, is the governor's retooling of solar regulations to encourage panels to be placed on industrial "brownfields" and on landfills also gives the township a chance to negotiate for the energy to be produced at a reduced cost.

The combined solar installations, including a large solar panel field at the Bernards Township's Sewerage Authority, eventually "should cover 100 percent of the township's electrical needs," McArthur said. "I believe that will be the case."

The Township Committee on Tuesday voted to give Syncarpha EFGI, LLC, the vendor already granted a lease to install a solar photovoltaic system at the landfill, another year to complete the installation.

That's about how long Syncarpha estimates it will take for the state to complete regulations and to carry out engineering plans for the project that already are complete, McArthur said.

The solar panel system that already went online at the Bernards Township Sewerage Authority's treatment plant about a year and a half ago already provides much of the power required by that facility on an around-the-clock basis, McArthur said.

The township already has earned $50,000 from the agreement with Syncarpha, based in New York, that was approved by the Township Committee in 2011.

After that vote, Syncarpha was due to make an initial payment of $20,000 to the township followed by a commitment to obtain permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and other necessary energy agencies, said McArthur said then.

On Tuesday, he said that amount had been received and two additional payments of $15,000 apiece to cover an extensive of the deal also were paid since.

In addition, the solar vendor is due to pay Bernards a one-time leasing fee of $450,000 at the time the the system goes online.

The lease contract allows Syncarpha to keep the panels to be placed at the sloping former landfill property for 20 years, McArthur said in 2011.

At that time, former regulations prohibited the municipality from working out a "power purchase agreement," or PPA, with the solar vendor to buy back the energy produced at a reduced cost.

"I am actually really excited," Mayor Carolyn Gaziano said of the proposal. "We could save a significant amount of money."

Township Committeeman John Malay said it is impressive that Bernards is shooting to cover 100 percent of its power needs with solar panels when other towns with solar installations are seeking to provide perhaps 20 percent of their power needs.

The new regulations would give the township the "right of first refusal" for any PPA agreement proposed by Syncarpha, McArthur told the Township Committee.

The extension also gives Syncarpha time to determine if the company wants to go through with the plan under the new state regulations, he said. However, he said the company already has invested not only time but funding, including drawing up engineering plans.

McArthur said that he believes a solar panel field is the best use of the former landfill, which he said is covered with a polyurethane cap that can't be punctured. He said the solar field would not affect the recycling center on the property.

Somerset County, which also is installing panels on two school roofs, arranged for the installation of the panels on the DPW roof, McArthur said. He said power generated by the panels can help power the DPW building off South Maple Avenue.