The farm, located at Shafto Road and Tormee Drive, will boast 85,000 solar panels when it is finished next year, sponsors said.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday morning, during which local and state officials, as well as representatives of the companies building the farm, sang the project’s praises.
The $80 million project is being built by Tinton Falls Solar Farm LLC, a subsidiary of the China-based Zongyi Solar America Co. The solar farm will “stimulate the local economy” and have “a long-lasting impact on the community,” said Eddie Zeng, CEO of Tinton Falls Solar Farm.
“We expect this project will be finished on time and with good quality, and will set the standard for solar projects in New Jersey,” he said.
The project will generate between 200 and 300 construction jobs as well as long-term positions once the facility is running, a company official said.
The solar panel farm uses some of the land that was originally slated to be homes, which pleased Mayor Michael Skudera.
“We probably would have had to build a new school” had the housing development been approved, Skudera said. “That would have been a huge strain on the taxpayers of Tinton Falls.”
But, Skudera said, the developer’s plans were rejected by the borough Planning Board, and the developer negotiated with the borough to scale down the project.
So, rather than a strain on borough taxpayers, Skudera said, the project will “be a boon to the local economy.”
“This project represents the future,” he said.
Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry said she was “happy you have this wonderful project to assist with getting jobs,” especially in light of job losses with Fort Monmouth’s closing.
State Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, said the solar farm was “truly an outstanding project for Monmouth County.”
SOURCE: http://www.app.com/article/20111028/NJNEWS/310280089/3-000-homes-may-get-solar-farm-electricity
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