TAURO: Trees to get temporary reprieve from solar farm

Let’s breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, that Great Adventure cannot chain saw over 70 acres of woodlands for solar panels and a substation to power their rides.

Migratory birds nest within the forest that Great Adventure will destroy. These birds are under protection for the next six months by the Migratory Bird Treaty as they make their way here from South America.

Score one for Mother Nature in this battle for the forest, where Great Adventure and KDC Solar plan to cut down almost 19,000 trees.

This breathing room will give time to the state Department of Environmental Protection to intercede based on testimony from Geoff Goll, an engineer with Princeton Hydro, hired by environmental groups to challenge the proposal.

Goll identified a tributary of the Toms River, a Category 1 waterway under federal and state protection, on the proposed site. The designation employs stringent standards to forbid degradation of high quality waterways, and gives the DEP jurisdiction. The DEP has publicly opposed the project, and has offered to buy the stretch of Pine Barren forest that connects two wildlife refuges.

On Monday night, under questioning by attorney Michele Donato, the engineer for Great Adventure conceded that he missed a pipe that connects the stream on one side of the road to the other. He conveniently failed to check available data that clearly shows the stream on both sides of the road, and its designation as a C1 waterway.

It is state policy for solar arrays to be constructed on pavement, brownfields and rooftops. The Jackson application runs counter to the national trend toward proper siting of solar facilities without disturbing the environment.

The Jackson Planning Board may vote on the plan Wednesday night after nine hearings and over 30 hours of testimony. Hopefully, the board will recognize the inconsistencies and problems with Great Adventure’s application that have been brought forward by the coalition and the public. Those issues include; native grasses, forest fragmentation, threatened and endangered species, storm water runoff, flooding, tree removal, substandard solar panels and future decommissioning.

The woods targeted for clear cutting are characterized by Great Adventure’s own forest management plan as valuable, and in good condition. Drone aerial footage submitted by Save Barnegat Bay shows a thriving forest.

This is another New Jersey solar project by KDC, with financial backing from the Chinese government bank, that has exploded into a public relations nightmare. A KDC plan to erect solar arrays on farmland in Bedminster was withdrawn amidst public outcry and lengthy local hearings. Thanks to an intelligent landowner, another plan to deforest an area in the Sourlands Mountains was redrawn to relocate the arrays within an already disturbed quarry.

Solar energy is key to responding to the climate crisis. Great Adventure claims its planned solar plant will eliminate more heat-trapping carbon emissions than the current forest absorbs. That’s pure spin. Solutions to combat climate change should never be at the expense of the environment. Rather, it should add to or enhance natural sites that reduce greenhouse emissions.

Great Adventure can either become a shining example of solar done well, or it can be talked about, written about and bandied about as an example of how not to do it.

It’s time for Great Adventure to see the forest and the trees, and either send KDC back to the drawing board or find another solar contractor to do it the right way, with respect for the environment.

Janet Tauro is board chair of Clean Water Action NJ.