There was nothing that could have been said to appease the 100 residents of West Windsor and nearby towns who showed up to voice their concerns, express their frustration, and demand answers from the Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA), developer SunLight General New Jersey, and the community college where the proposed solar energy field will be located.
Although general explanations were offered, they were met with anger and contention. Most disheartening to residents, construction is scheduled to begin this summer, and in the fall there will be a formal ceremony to christen the solar field.
At the third and final public meeting regarding the 45-acre solar field project at Mercer County Community College, residents took turns questioning and expressing their frustration to Phil Miller of the MCIA, Stacey Hughes of SunLight General Capital, and Stephen Goodbody, director of projects and engineering for SunLight.
Vikram Singh, who lives off of Old Trenton Road, shouted a sentiment that several residents seconded.
“The community college is part of our community — why don’t you do something beneficial to the community instead of just for yourselves!” he said.
Carol Wake of 340 South Post Road, whose property borders the MCCC property and the future site of the solar field, spoke about consistent water runoff problems and concern over flooding in her basement.
“We have a wetlands buffer in between (the properties) and in the past couple of years I’ve seen problems when they have had construction in Mercer County Park. Over the last four years I’ve worked diligently in order to prevent water from actually coming into my basement. I’ve graded my property and installed a sump pump, and I’m right at the point where I feel I’ve got in under control, after doing all this work. We don’t look forward to having something come in that will cause this disturbance all over again,” said Wake, who has lived on South Post Road for 54 years with her mother, 87.
Goodbody told Wake that her property line would be 300 feet from the fence around the solar panels. She followed by asking where the trees (berms) would be placed to block her view of the solar panels. Goodbody said there is a tentative plan, developed with West Windsor Landscape Architect Dan Dobromilsky.
“Number one, we want a hedge that’s evergreen to restrict and block your view of the site. Number two, we don’t want that hedge to be eaten by deer. If we place that hedge outside the fence it has less chance of fulfilling its function. The point of placing a hedge inside the fence is that it will grow into and within the fence so that it prevents the fence itself from being seen,” Goodbody said.
Wake also questioned the scheduled removal of 130 trees. “Those trees have been there for over 54 years since I’ve been there, and if you’re planning to pull out their intricate root systems I can imagine that torrents of water will come down,” she said.
Goodbody said the MCIA will publish all of the findings of the hydrology studies done for the area, “the technical evaluations that are required and necessary in order to ensure that water runoff will not be an issue.” Goodbody added that the developer and the MCIA had carefully reviewed the studies with the DEP “taking DEP observations into account.” He explained that the DEP’s state-mandated role is to be the expert and review exact details of the project.
Goodbody acknowledged the sentiment of the audience. “There is nothing I am going to say here that is going to make you happy. I fully appreciate that,” he said.
Marek Dziekonski lives in Pennsylvania but he owns the property off of Old Trenton Road that’s closest to the boundary of the solar field, and Goodbody said his property will sit just 125 feet away from a chain-link fence around the panels.
Dziekonski said that he just found out about the project two weeks ago, and neither the college nor the MCIA made any efforts to contact him directly. “I never received anything from you guys. It seems like I’m the one most affected as I’ll have solar panels on the side and the back of my property. I don’t live there but I own the property, and I have future plans for the property. My address and contact info is in public records because West Windsor Township sends me my tax bills and everything to my house in Pennsylvania, so I’m sure you could have found me there as well,” he said.
Goodbody responded by saying that the sight lines and screening were developed in conjunction with West Windsor Township’s Office of Community Development. Miller, of the MCIA, and Goodbody said that the MCIA planned to meet with residents whose homes were closest to the solar field’s location. Miller said such one-on-one meetings will continue throughout June.
“We wanted to [meet residents] outside of this broader meeting because we want to discuss the details and do the things that were right for you,” Goodbody said.
In an interview on Tuesday, June 5, Miller said that the project still awaits final DEP approval before construction starts. He added that the MCIA was gathering information that will either be posted or linked on its website, and an e-mail contact for residents with questions would also be set up in June.
At the meeting, Hughes of Sunlight General tried to explain the project’s goals and assure residents of SunLight’s comprehensive evaluation of the financial benefits of the $38 million project. She commented that for the project’s first five years, the value of the Solar Renewable Energy Credit would need to be at $129 per credit for the project to be profitable.
“We’ll sell power to the college at a very discounted rate, but at a rate because it’s part of the financing structure. This will help MCCC save quite a lot but it will also contribute to paying down the bonds. It’s a $40-million asset securing the whole thing,” she said.
“Another way to look at it is that over the life of the transaction the SRECs would need to be at $165. In any given year it doesn’t matter so much because we’ve got the enhanced security and the pre-funded amounts. We’re not super-concerned about which year the best returns in SRECs happen. It’s a long-term, 15-year project by which time it needs to reach profit,” Hughes said.
At the meeting she said SRECs are currently between $165 and $175, although the exact numbers fluctuate every day.
Residents insisted that SunLight, a three-year-old company, needed to provide adequate and accurate data to back up their assertion. Marshall Lerner of 3 Sapphire Drive led a number of residents in probing the MCIA and SunLight about the financial factors involved in the project. Lerner commented on the potential for Mercer County taxpayers having to bear the financial burden should the SREC market not produce favorable returns. He questioned Hughes and said the data she showed on SREC values was “amiss.”
“SREC values now are $85 — this was just released by the New Jersey Association of Counties yesterday,” Lerner contended.
Hughes stood by her data, saying SunLight should be relied upon because they are professionals in the solar industry. Hughes and Miller agreed to provide more industry information on SRECs.
Miller clarified Hughes’ objective some more in a telephone interview. “What we said we would do is provide third party contact information. [Stacey Hughes] referenced SREC market information and residents said ‘let us know who those contacts are.’ There are three different third parties (companies that buy SRECs) and Stacey spoke about the price of SRECs determined by just one of the three, Karbone Trading,” Miller said.
