How NJR turned Superfund site into one of largest capped landfill solar arrays in North America

NJR Clean Energy Ventures’ 25.6-megawatt solar project in Mt. Olive will provide enough clean energy to power more than 4,000 homes annually

Solar panel

NJR Clean Energy Ventures will hold a dedication ceremony Wednesday to mark the completion of construction of a new 25.6-megawatt solar project in Mount Olive Township — one of the largest capped landfill solar arrays in North America and the largest in New Jersey.

Located on the site of the former Combe Fill North Landfill in Mount Olive, the ground-mounted solar array consists of approximately 56,900 solar panels and will provide enough clean energy to power over 4,000 homes annually and reduce emissions by 23,940 tons every year.

The true measure of the project is perhaps greater than its energy output.

For NJR Clean Energy Ventures, the renewable energy subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, it’s a salute to the company’s efforts to find clean energy solutions — and something few people would have imagined when the site (which operated from 1966-81) was closed and listed as Superfund site in 1982 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

NJR CEO Steve Westhoven said the project shows the commitment of the company to fighting climate change with new energy solutions.

“NJR Clean Energy Ventures is committed to building a clean energy future with projects like the Mount Olive solar field,” he said. “By repurposing landfills and other underutilized spaces to produce clean, renewable energy, NJR is helping to power a bright, sustainable future today and delivering clean energy innovations that drive New Jersey toward our clean energy goals.”

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources is a Fortune 1000 company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR is composed of five primary businesses:

  • New Jersey Natural Gas;
  • Clean Energy Ventures;
  • Energy services;
  • Storage and transportation;
  • Home services.

Clean Energy Ventures invests in, owns and operates solar projects with a total capacity of more than 380 megawatts, providing residential and commercial customers with low-carbon solutions.

The project continues NJR’s strong track record of clean energy investments in New Jersey, with NJR having reduced its operational emissions in New Jersey by 50% of 2006 levels, with an ultimate goal to reduce those emissions by 60% by 2030.

The project was designed, engineered and permitted by CEP Renewables LLC, an accomplished developer of grid-connected, utility-scale solar projects with expertise utilizing unusable land such, as landfills, brownfields and Superfunds, to generate clean power, and built by CS energy using union labor.

Covering 102 acres of underutilized brown field, the clean power produced at the Mount Olive solar field will feed into the local distribution system and be sold into the wholesale energy market through regional electrical grid operator PJM Interconnection.