Letter: Seeing Eye Solar Panel Plan Carries Environmental Problems

Not everything labelled "green" is necessarily good for the environment. Is anyone out there aware of The Seeing Eye's plan to convert more than 10 acres of lush, green open space to a black field of solar panels? The plan smells.

Is it worth turning an environmentally sensitive open area in a designated historic district into a commercial solar panel field for The Seeing Eye to save less than 1 percent on its operating budget? The fact is, the economic impacts of this solar field go way beyond just The Seeing Eye's electric bill.

In order to cut $150,000 from its $25,000,000 operating budget,The Seeing Eye is planning to have an 8,000+ solar panel field installed on Washington Valley Road. It has chosen to lease the acreage to KDC, a developer of large scale commercial solar projects. KDC is an operating partner of (and has received venture capital from) Diamond Castle; Diamond Castle is owned by a Trustee and former Chairman of the Board for The Seeing Eye. The majority of the energy produced by this solar field will be used solely by The Seeing Eye; excess energy produced by this monolith will be sold back to the grid for KDC's benefit. At a minimum, KDC's relationship with The Seeing Eye is suspect.

If saving money on the electric bill is The Seeing Eye's goal, has The Seeing Eye explored (with help of an independent expert) the myriad of changes it can make to reduce energy needs, regardless of the source of that energy? Or has it simply opted for a project that sounds and looks good, and can allow it to announce its efforts to "go green"?

Did The Seeing Eye request, receive, and review proposals from other companies?

Why has The Seeing Eye chosen a company that is so closely linked to a Trustee and former Chairman of the Board?

How and why did KDC (a company with no track record, of similar installations, it wishes to share with the public) win this project?

The entire plan is moving too fast and advancing without open, adequate, and expert information to support educated, thoughtful decisions on the merits and pitfalls of the plan. There are simply too many unanswered questions to move forward with any decisions on the matter.

More data must be gathered by all parties to understand the implications of allowing this land to be used for the field of solar panels prior to the project moving forward–once the allowance is made, it is precedent for the future–the consideration should be based on facts, and made from an educated, thoughtful perspective that looks forward in time to all the potential and foreseeable outcomes.

Does Washington Valley, Morris Township, really want to be the guinea pig for KDC and the solar field industry itself?

This will be the first of its kind and size in a historic, residential, and environmentally sensitive area; so far, solar development has been only on lands that deemed industrial, brownfields, or dumps. The plan will require a variance from Morris Township. KDC has applied to the Board of Adjustment for such a variance. Morris Township does not have an energy ordinance yet; granting a variance on use that has yet to be fully vetted would be unwise. The Township needs to get smart about these types of installations, their benefits and detriments, before passing judgement. Look deeply and far into the future in considering the locations of these installations. This is a situation where the decision-makers that represent the tax payers can set precedent by controlling the plan that benefits its residents rather than by being driven by the financial interests of a commercial developer and its (possibly unwitting, compliant, or complacent) client/partner. This is a decision that has permanent ramifications; there are no do-overs.

A solar panel field (an industrial-sized commercial site) in any residential neighborhood is likely to have just as much (if not more) of a negative effect on property values as having power towers and lines in the backyard. What will that do to the tax revenues from the area? Hiding this monolith of over 8,000 solar panels with a 8 ft. high fence, a berm, and new plantings is not acceptable in Washington Valley, which is designated both open space and historic–once this acreage is destroyed, it cannot be recovered. Morris Township’s Open Space Program and Initiative specifically states that Washington Valley should be preserved. If the plan goes through, the definition of "preserved" needs to be redefined.

The data being presented by KDC and The Seeing Eye are misrepresented and/or deceitful. The disruption to open ground and plant life that support the local environment will be substantialth–these panels will wipe out 168 trees and a minimum of 10 acres of vegetation with a black sheet, not to mention the wildlife that depends on that habitat. The rainwater will still be able to reach the ground but that water will be measurably warmer, thus increasing the surrounding ground, air, and watershed temperatures. Many of these changes are indeed permanent, in spite of KDC's position that the field of panels can be removed in short order; fact is, the environment will not regenerate in short order.

It is likely that fast-approaching deadlines on financial incentive plans, such as Federal energy stimulus/grants and tax credits, provide strong incentives for KDC to push this plan through as quickly as possible. Board members and taxpayers, please step up and do the right thing; halt this project (before it's too late) until after you have sourced independent information and expertise and gained insight on its impact to all those concerned.

–Ashley McNeill-Pohle, Morris Township