JACKSON – The Township Council will seek bids for a project known as Legler Solar II.
The 135-acre Legler property is off Dorathys Lane and Lakehurst Avenue in Jackson. For a number of years, Jackson officials have tried to have a solar energy array constructed at the former landfill. Officials have said they are hoping to offer potential savings in energy costs.
Officials have been pursuing a plan since 2015.
Township Council Vice President Andrew Kern said the idea is to “get the original solar project that was approved in 2015 across the goal line. My history/background is in energy, I have been doing that for more than 12 years.”
Kern said he has reviewed the previous solar energy plan and the Legler property.
“I realized there is a lot more property out there, that is basically desert … and when you notice there is a lot more property, you could add additional solar to (the site) and by doing that maybe there are other things in town that could be offset,” Kern said.
The councilman said the goal is to create benefits for taxpayers.
“There are no specifications (for a project) because we do not want to design it ourselves and limit ourselves to what we can come up with.
“All of the bidders will have engineers on staff; let them come up with something innovative and great, and it also saves the taxpayers money in costs (instead of) having us design it.
“The idea is to do all of this for as little as possible and save the taxpayers as much as possible, and then in addition have a land lease revenue from the property,” Kern said.
