CEP Renewables announced Tuesday that its Mount Olive project has received POWER Magazine‘s Top Renewable Energy Plant of the Year Award. The award for the largest solar landfill project in North America is shared with CEP partners NJR Clean Energy Ventures, CS Energy, Terrasmart and Lindsay Precast.
This 25.6 megawatt project allowed Mount Olive Township to recoup $2.3 million in taxes while transforming a former 65-acre Superfund site into a clean, revenue-generating asset.
Developed by CEP Renewables, Mount Olive was constructed by CS Energy. Terrasmart designed and supplied its Glide fixed-tilt, ballasted racking systems and supplied the eBOS components. TMEIC partnered with Lindsay Precast for the prefabricated steel skids and integration of its Solar Ware Ninja inverters. The project is owned and operated under a long-term agreement with CEV, a subsidiary of investor-owned utility New Jersey Resources.
“With over a decade of successfully deploying these types of projects, we are uniquely experienced in turning previously contaminated Superfund and brownfield sites into clean energy, jobs and tax revenue,” Chris Ichter, executive vice president at CEP, said. “We are honored by this award and proud to contribute to New Jersey’s goal of meeting 50% of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030.”
POWER magazine has honored top performers in the electricity-generating industry for the last four decades. The Mount Olive project was selected for its innovative approach and team solutions across design, engineering, construction and finance, including:
- CEP Renewables strategically structured the financing to include the landfill’s purchase through a redevelopment and tax lien foreclosure, resulting in the 2021 Award for Innovation in Governance from the New Jersey League of Municipalities;
- CS Energy ensured the integrity of the landfill’s protective cap through settlement analyses, resulting in detailed site preparation and careful construction execution;
- Terrasmart value-engineered the racking system to minimize project costs and meet revenue goals, optimizing the ballasted design to achieve a reduction in the cost of concrete blocks;
- Lindsay Precast reduced on-site labor and streamlined schedules while maintaining the highest level of quality throughout the prefabrication and integration of TMEIC’s Ninja Inverters to steel skids.
“This is our eighth project with CEP Renewables, our seventh project with Lindsay Precast and our 14th landfill solar project with Terrasmart,” Janani Ramkumar, vice president of operations at CS Energy, said. “The team is excited to receive POWER Magazine’s Top Renewable Energy Plant of the Year Award. It’s a testament to the strength of our partnerships in delivering high-quality solar assets that yield significant long-term financial and environmental benefits.”
