Maser to Serve as Consultant as Moorestown Explores Solar Project Possibilities

Moorestown Council has found a consultant for the possible solar field on New Albany Road, although one council member requested more time to properly vet the company before hiring it.

Maser Consulting will advise the township as it looks at the possible solar project at the Jet Pulverizer site located on New Albany Road, proposed by Sustainable Moorestown at the June 7 meeting.

Council made the decision Monday night, making it clear that Maser will act as a consultant and a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued once a decision is made.

The Jet Pulverizer site is an EPA Superfund Site and “Brownfield,” Moorestown Mayor Chris Chiacchio said in an email following the June 7 meeting.

He said the idea would be to install a solar array on approximately seven acres in order to produce five mega watts of power, which is equivalent to the power used annually by the Township buildings, including the lighting for the sports fields.

“In addition to offsetting most if not all of the costs of powering the Township facilities and reducing the Township’s carbon footprint, this capital investment has the capacity to generate a substantial cash flow depending on the Township’s investment,” Chiacchio said. “In addition, there is a competitive grant offered by EPA we can pursue to convert Brownfields to solar fields.  I stress that this project is still in its infancy and there is substantial research and planning that needs to be completed.”

He said the next step would be to find an engineer to act as a consultant. Chiacchio was absent from Monday’s meeting, but Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan, Councilman Phil Garwood and Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano cited a desire to get the project “moving forward.”

“We need a partner who knows the business and I see no harm in naming a consultant,” Garwood said. “We need to make the right decision and we need to get a trained eye to help us.

“I’m concerned about pushing it off and pushing it off,” Jordan said. “I want to get things done.”

Newcomer was concerned about a solar analysis previously conducted that he said he never saw a copy of. He said the township should consult the information it already has. He was also concerned because he wasn’t given information concerning Maser until Monday afternoon and would like the time to research the company before making a decision.

Maser began as a consulting firm operating out of a Marlboro, NJ home in 1984, according to its website. It has since grown to a company with 15 locations in New Jersey, New York and across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. It is headquartered in Red Bank, with locations in Brick and Mt. Laurel, among others.

It provided design services for the construction of the pedestrian bridge at Exit 91 of the Garden State Parkway, providing accessibility to the Brick Township Park-n-Ride lot.

Its other projects include the rehabilitation bridges in Sussex County and Bergen County, and the replacement of bridges in Westchester County, NY, and Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey.

Maser will help Moorestown determine if it wants to manage the site itself or utilize the services of a third party. The cost of the project also remains an unknown at this point.