West Windsor Council on July 31 punted on making a decision on the construction of a solar microgrid near the municipal site until after this year’s mayor and council election.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and the township environmental commission have been pushing for the construction of a solar project on a 5-acre portion of the Censoni Tract, the open space property adjacent to town hall.
The main purpose of the project would be to act as a backup power system for the municipal complex in case of a power outage.
Council voted 3-2 to table any action on the project until after the election, with the reasoning that the new mayor and council should make the decision on the project. Council members Jyotika Bahree, Linda Geevers and Hemant Marathe voted against moving ahead on the project. Vice President Alison Miller and Ayesha Hamilton voted to proceed.
The resignation of Peter Mendonez, former council president, in June impacted the direction of the project. In May, Mendonez, Miller and Hamilton indicated they were in favor of the microgrid.
Bahree, who was chosen to replace him, turned out to be a swing vote in the other direction.
For more on both sides of the microgrid debate, read letters by Hamilton and Marathe.
A conceptual layout of the West Windsor solar energy back-up system from the township’s proposal.,
