By Stephen Appezzato
MIDDLETOWN – The plan to build a 42-acre solar farm on the county-owned Belford Landfill site will progress – with Middletown on board. The Middletown Township Committee entered into the lease/sub-lease agreement with Monmouth County and Belford Solar Farm LLC. Now, if the farm is constructed, the township will receive tax revenue from previously tax-exempt land.
In September, the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners entered into a lease agreement with Port Belford Solar Fam LLC, a subsidiary of CEP Renewables. The company wants to build a 42-acre solar farm that will produce renewable energy and be sold to the utility company. According to Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone, the farm would provide up to 20 megawatts of power and $750,000 in tax relief for the county each year.
The project is part of the larger Port Belford redevelopment plan.
The Belford Landfill sits on county-owned land. Because of this, Middletown does not receive property tax revenue from it. By entering into the lease agreement, the township will receive revenue from Port Belford Solar Farm LLC if the plan comes to fruition.
Susan Dinnocenzo of Belford raised concerns about the project, saying other Belford residents felt the same.
Dinnocenzo urged the township committee to “slow down” with redevelopment. She proposed the former landfill be cleaned up and preserved, as wildlife has taken to the site.
Other residents on Facebook shared similar views, hoping the county would preserve the open space.
But Middletown Mayor Tony Perry and township attorney Brian Nelson explained that the town does not have a say in the redevelopment.
“We’re just really a pass-through for the county on this,” Nelson said. “The county owns the property. It’s a former closed landfill site that can’t be used really for anything else other than something like this.” Because the lot is county-owned, decisions from the county supersede the township’s control. Even if Middletown’s leaders protested the forthcoming solar farm, the county could proceed.
“They can do it with or without the township. The benefit that the township derives from this is tax revenue,” Nelson said. Perry urged Dinnocenzo and others who disagree with the plan to speak with county officials.
“The township can either be a part of this and receive property taxes” or “they can just go ahead and do it without us,” Perry said.
Concerned residents will have an opportunity to speak at Belford Solar Farm LLC’s upcoming site plan hearing with the county planning board. Residents within 200 feet of the site will receive formal notice of the hearing.
Former landfill sites are difficult to repurpose. A solar farm, known as a brightfield, is one of the few suitable uses for landfills.
The article originally appeared in the October 19 – 25, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
