Landfill photo by Diane Lederman, Republican staff.
Former Amherst Landfill Solar Project Raises Concerns
Republican Newspaper/Masslive.com
By Diane Lederman
Commentary
As most people know, Amherst, Massachusetts is a fairly unique town in many ways. Known as a very progressive town, with no lack of engaged, opinionated residents, Amherst is one of those rare towns that actually votes its own, non-binding, opinions on state and national issues, such as war and health care. It is also a community that takes to heart green and sustainable sensibilities.
The idea to use otherwise unusable land for an array of photovoltaics is not new, but it is enlightened. I have often looked at old landfills, such as the large one that can be seen driving south on Interstate 91 toward Hartford, and thought to myself, solar panels could be installed there and produce a lot of power for the city.
Having said that, the number one priority at all times is the safety of the residents of the community. The residents who have expressed concerns are right to do so. If the landfill cap were to be disturbed or damaged, any benefit to the environment made by the use of solar would be completely dwarfed by the harm done by contamination leaking out from the site.
It is wise to take an optimistic, but thorough and measured approach here and I think the town has got it right. They are investigating the impact and will alter their plan accordingly.
It would be fantastic to see other cities and towns move in this ‘outside the box thinking’ direction. Even in these difficult budgetary times, a slow and steady move toward more green and sustainable practices by our governments would benefit us all in the long run.
- Jason Burkins
Jersey Sure!
Nj.com image
I am visiting friends in the Philadelphia area this weekend and took an Amtrak train for the first time in my life. The train ride was nice. It was fascinating to see the world go by in a blink of an eye and to see parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that I wouldn’t normally see while driving down the interstate.
One of the most interesting discoveries I made while cities and towns streaked on by my window was a little surprising to me. For the entire stretch of track between the New York and Pennsylvania borders, almost every telephone pole I saw on the streets had a photovoltaic solar panel mounted about 15 feet up.
Image by Juan Arredondo for The New York Times
At first I thought, wow, this is a really cool initiative by some New Jersey town. I made a mental note to see if I could Google the town later to get the details on their solar project. But then I began to see the panels on poles everywhere along the route. Apparently it is a statewide initiative. So I did some research and found out that it was an idea brought about by New Jersey’s largest utility company, Public Service Electric and Gas to install panels on 200,000-500,000 utility poles in New Jersey over the course of five years. The project, which is estimated to cost the company close to $800 million began in 2009.
When finished, it was believed the solar panels would generate 120 megawatts of electricity, which experts said would amounts to just 1 percent of the power consumed in the state, but close to 7 percent of the state’s goal of power generated from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Advocates of the initiative believe that by 2020, 22.5 percent of the state’s electricity is supposed to come from renewable sources.
Unlike the solar panels we see a lot of on traffic lights and parking meters, which simple are used to power that sole function, these panels would feed directly into the electrical grid. By selling the electricity into the wholesale market, the utility expects to offset some of the cost of installing the panels.
There are opponents of the project as well who say the cost is too high, especially since the utility has added anywhere from 10-35 cents more per month to each customer’s bill to finance the project. Others say the panels, which are about 5 feet by 3 feet and angled to face the south, are an eyesore and detract from the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
There have been news articles and editorials for and against the project since it was proposed. But, near as I can gather, so far, it seems, most New Jerseyans feel the positives outweigh the negatives as more and more people are committing toward renewable energy sources.
I love this outside the box kind of thinking toward energy production and commend Public Service Electric and Gas and the state of New Jersey for making it a reality.
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Posted in Commentary, Photovoltaic panels, Renewable Energy