Berkeley Landfill To Become Solar Field

BERKELEY, NJ — Berkeley’s closed landfill will soon be transformed into a solar field that will generate revenue for the township.

Berkeley requested public bids last year for an energy company to build a solar field over the landfill behind the township's Public Works building on Pinewald-Keswick Road.

Mayor Carmen Amato announced that Hathaway Solar would be awarded the contract at Berkeley's June council meeting.

After the bid review process, Hathaway Solar was determined to be the highest responsible bidder, Amato said.

“We’re really excited about this. We’ll get a landfill closed and solar on it will be generating some revenue for the township,” Amato said.

The solar field is estimated to generate up to $460,000 for the township. Residents will also have the opportunity to opt in to the program and purchase solar energy.

“It’s an opt-in program, not an opt-out. I know there’s different types of programs that are available but we wanted ours to be an opt-in this way if the residents want to buy energy from it, they can opt in to it,” he said.

The cost of the bid also includes the work of fully closing the landfill in accordance with Department of Environmental Protection standards.

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