With the land mostly cleared two years ago along Deptford’s Almonesson Road, developers of a planned 38-acre solar farm are celebrating approval to move forward with the full 15 megawatts (MW) of electrical generation capacity.
The project has always been designed for 15 MW, but the development team has been working through a variety of New Jersey Solar Generation programs and approval processes over several years.
An initial 5 MW was approved about five years ago, and the latest state approval now adds the remaining 10 MW. With that milestone reached, the solar project can proceed with its full 15 MW plan.
The property is located along a largely undeveloped stretch of Almonesson Road between the New Jersey Turnpike and Big Timber Creek.
About two years ago, crews began clearing the previously wooded lot, which sits directly across from the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. At the time, the activity drew questions from local residents, prompting further research and a March 2024 42Freeway article on the project.
This development is viewed not only as a step forward for renewable energy generation, but also as a productive reuse of land that is considered an unapproved (and uncapped) landfill… with contamination which likely kept the property from being developed years ago.
Continue reading my coverage below but also check out the coverage at The Sun Newspapers, where reporter Suzette Parmley did a great job interviewing the project sponsors.
New Jersey continues to face challenges with rising electricity costs for residents and businesses, driven in part by limited growth in new in-state clean/renewable power generation.
Recently, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation lifting a decades-old nuclear moratorium in the New Jersey and establishing a task force to evaluate the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies across the state.
Sherril announced in the press conference that nuclear generation already accounts for almost 1/2 of our electricity generated in the state, and 80% of the clean energy… yet additional plants have not been approved.
Utility provider PSE&G quickly issued a statement supporting the nuclear legislation, highlighting the opportunity for New Jersey to become a hub for nuclear innovation.
Related to that clean and renewable energy focus, the Deptford solar approval was included in a March 5 decision by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) supporting several initiatives aimed at expanding in-state clean energy generation, improving grid reliability, and helping control electricity costs.
That announcement also included significant increases in future project capacity. For perspective, while this Deptford project totals 15 MW, the state is expanding its community solar program by an additional 3,000 MW.
New Jersey’s broader clean energy goals also include expanding battery storage systems to store electricity generated by solar facilities. and make that power available at peak times.
The Almonesson Road solar project in Deptford represents a multi-year effort to secure approvals from various government agencies to transform largely unusable land into a productive clean energy facility.
The initial 5 MW approval came through New Jersey’s Community Solar Program, which allows residents who cannot install solar panels on their own homes—such as renters—to subscribe to off-site solar projects and receive bill credits. These credits typically reduce electricity costs by 15% to 25%. Low- and moderate-income households receive at least a 25% discount, and at least 51% of the program’s capacity is reserved for those subscribers.
The remaining 10MW approval was through the Competitive Solar Incentive which uses competitive solicitations to help secure new solar projects at the lowest possible incentive cost.
Cherry Hill-based developers (and cousins) Jeffrey and Andrew Herskowitz are leading this Deptford project. Announcing the final approval on LinkedIn, Jeffrey Herskowitz stated:
“Projects like this show how closed landfills and brownfield sites can be transformed into productive clean energy infrastructure. With the right regulatory framework and persistence, sites that once sat dormant can become long-term contributors to New Jersey’s energy future.”
According to an interview at the Sun Newspapers, even with generation approvals secured, several steps remain before construction advances. These include finalizing interconnection details with PSE&G and obtaining remaining building permits from Deptford Township.
Additional environmental remediation work is also required.
The Almonesson Road site was never formally declared a landfill. Historically, from the 1940s through the 1970s, it operated as a pig farm that received food waste from Philadelphia restaurants… that food waste fed the pigs at the farm.
Over time, farming practices and other dumping activities introduced contaminants into the soil and groundwater, including pesticides, PCBs, and metals.
While some residents have expressed concern over tree clearing, the site is classified as contaminated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Without those conditions, the property likely would have been developed for housing decades ago.
As part of the project, the developer is required to fully close and cap landfill areas, install groundwater monitoring systems, remove unidentified waste from the western mudflat area near the creek, and implement stormwater controls and other environmental safeguards. The site will be monitored for 30 years.
Although the land has been mostly cleared for two years, there is no firm timeline for major construction to begin. Final coordination with PSE&G and completion of Deptford’s permitting process are still needed before work can move forward.
In my visit this morning there was no signs of any recent activity
Deptford Landfill Solar
Almonesson Road
Deptford NJ
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