Chatham School May Be Home to New County Solar Energy Project

After a 2011 debacle that saw the potential construction of multiple solar projects across Morris County fall through, the board of freeholders has reassessed the situation and chosen 10 sites in the region to implement new solar projects.

Sixteen total sites across the county were considered by a freeholder subcommittee, and 10 locations have been chosen.

“The board has employed a conservative assessment of each of the 10 sites to be constructed when it comes to their future economic viability, and made a significant effort to project, as best as possible, that the solar power they generate will produce revenue to help pay off past Solar 2 project debt and provide long-term energy cost savings for the county, local governments and school district that are hosting the solar panels,” the county said in a statement.

The 10 sites include:

• Four at county-owned sites including two at the county library, one at the county public safety academy, and one at the county’s Office of Temporary Assistance
• 5 at public schools: Two in Washington Township, two in Mt. Olive, and one in Chatham
• One at a Chester Municipal Complex

Sites under the Solar 2 project that will be removed from consideration were located in Hanover, Montville, Mount Olive, Parsippany, Randolph, and at the Morris County School of Technology in Denville.

In 2011, the MCIA sold $33.1 million in county-guaranteed bonds to help finance the MCIA’s renewable energy program to install solar panels at 30 municipal and school sites in Morris County to generate power and reduce energy costs for the participants. Of those projects, 17 have been fully built and are up and running.

A full timeline of the process and projected timetable of construction can be found here.