While New Jersey Sierra Club would prefer solar on rooftops, parking lots, brownfields, etc., before using farmland and open space, the Club understands that there are financial and practical hurdles, which we are working to overcome.
In order to facilitate solar on these structures, NJ needs to provide incentives and to facilitate solar installations in built environments.
As with housing, mid-scale, for-profit solar installations on farmland should be clustered, on 10-15% of the total area. The land should be deed-restricted and the section with panels designed to return to productive farmland at the end of the expected life of the solar panels.
Solar power generation should be placed near areas of existing transmission lines.
PRIORITIES
ZONING | POSITION | COMMENTS |
|
|
|
industrial/residential | go solar | advocate for clustering |
preserved | no solar | on-site generation OK |
agricultural | need to establish negative criteria | need to prove no negative impact to intent of zone |