Jones Lang LaSalle

State Agency Will Investigate Solar Energy
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: December 7, 2005 09:43am

LYNDHURST, NJ-The Meadowlands Xanadu project, a new and expanded stadium complex for the Giants and Jets, and a variety of other massive projects planned or under way in the Meadowlands are expected to place extensive new energy demands on the region. And the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is looking to do something about it.

The board of the NJMC, a state agency charged with overseeing both development and conservation in the region, has scheduled a meeting for Monday, Dec. 12 to consider a policy directive that would have the agency investigate the potential for a district-wide solar energy farm. According to NJMC public information officer Chris Gale, the analysis would create a plan “detailing how extensive warehouse rooftop surface and utilization of remediated landfills could support a 32-sq.-mi. solar energy farm to generate power for in-district consumption.”
Similarly, the proposed analysis would supplement a coordinated approach by the agency “to achieve more environmentally sustainable economic growth in the heart of one of the country’s largest urbanized wetlands,” Gale says.

The region encompasses some 8,400 acres of wetlands, waterways and open space within five miles of Manhattan. Besides the Xanadu and stadium projects, the docket includes several golf courses and resort hotels, office buildings, several new residential communities and more.