CEP Renewables, NJR Clean Energy Ventures, and CS Energy announced the completion of the 19 MW Foul Rift solar project located in White Township, Warren County, New Jersey. This project was built on a brownfield, an environmentally degraded site, that had been home to a composting facility for nearly thirty years. Before ceasing its operations, the facility had a significant history of violations recorded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). CEP’s development of this project enabled the environmental rehabilitation of the site, providing clean and reliable energy, pollinator habitats, and increased tax revenue for the local community.
A Public-Private Partnership for Environmental Rehabilitation
CEP Renewables’ efforts demonstrate New Jersey’s strong policy support for brownfield and landfill solar projects and the effectiveness of solar farms in providing grid power while addressing environmental damage that would otherwise go unaddressed. Chris Ichter, Executive Vice President at CEP Renewables, stated, “We were able to draw upon our prior experience on similar solar projects to develop an effective public-private partnership with White Township, which will positively impact generations to come.”
Ownership and Clarification on Tax Foreclosure
CEP currently leases the property from the Postma family, who played a key role in the project’s success. CEP Renewables apologizes for any confusion caused by the erroneous mention of tax foreclosure in a previous version of this release. Unlike the Mount Olive project, no property title acquisition through tax foreclosure was conducted for the Foul Rift site, and there were no unpaid taxes related to this location.
The Foul Rift project has not only transformed an environmentally hazardous site into a revenue-generating asset but has also contributed to New Jersey’s ranking as the number one U.S. state in installed solar capacity per square mile. This project further supports the state’s goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
