Freeholders clear 10 solar projects in Morris

The Morris County Board of Freeholders have approved construction of 10 solar-energy projects while recommending that six existing projects be scrapped.

Approved projects listed in a press release include four at county-owned sites, two at Washington Township schools, two more in Mount Olive and one in Chatham. The six sites removed form the existing county solar program are in Hanover, Montville, Mount Olive, Parsippany, Randolph and Denville.

The freeholders, who approved the 10 projects by resolution, followed the guidelines of a "Build No Build" committee charged with review and selection of sites that presented the ability of generate enough revenue to cover their respective portion of debt service, operating and maintenance costs, and the likelihood of producing excess revenues to help pay off debt incurred by the 2011 Solar 2 Program. That committee included three freeholders and members of the Morris County Improvement Authority.

The county sites can provide two economic benefits — producing energy savings for the county and potentially excess revenue (through Solar Energy Renewable Credits) to pay off previous Solar 2 Program debt.

The MCIA sold $33.1 million in county-guaranteed bonds in 2011 to help finance installation of solar panels at 30 municipal and school sites in Morris County. Of those projects, 17 have been fully built and are up and running, according to the freeholders.

Five of the built sites include solar panels erected over four parking lots at County College of Morris, and another there at the Student Community Center. The other 11 existing sites are at public schools scattered around the county, including Montville, Randolph and Morris Knolls high schools.

Those sites were part of an $88 million project with Somerset and Sussex counties that would have resulted in 71 new facilities. But legal battles between the program's developer and contractor resulted in the Solar 2 Program accumulating financial deficits and halting work at the unbuilt or unfinished sites.

The resolution authorizes the MCIA to construct 10 more sites and have them operating by the end of 2016. The county anticipates 27 percent reimbursement for site construction from the federal government through a federal program that requires the work to be completed by Dec. 31, 2016.

The committee, which included three freeholders and members of the Morris County Improvement Authority, after five public meetings recommended that six of the unbuilt sites from the original Solar 2 Program be removed from the program.

According to Matt Jessup, counsel to the MCIA, the 10 approved sites, added to the 17 existing sites, would produce $3.4 million for the county in solar-credit revenue. Because the debt was calculated to be paid off by 30 sites, failing to build the 10 new sites would result in a revenue gap of $5.76 million for the county debt because fewer sites would be producing revenue to pay the debt.

Approved sites for construction are as follows:

Washington (2): Benedict A. Cucinella Elementary School; Long Valley Middle School

Chester: Board of Education/police station

Mount Olive (2): Tinc and Sandshore elementary schools

Morris Township: County office of Human Services/Office of Temporary Assistance,

Hanover (2): Morris County Library (roof and carport)

Parsippany: Morris County Public Safety Training Academy

Chatham: Chatham High School

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.