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Six Flags solar farm sacrifices forest, critics say

Shannon Mullen
Asbury Park (N.J.) Press
Six Flags Great Adventure President John Fitzgerald is shown during an interview Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Jackson Township, NJ, about the parks plan to build a solar farm.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – He drives a Tesla plug-in, speaks passionately about the perils of climate change and is an architect of one of the most ambitious green energy initiatives in the state.

But for the past month, Six Flags Great Adventure President John Fitzgerald has drawn the ire of New Jersey environmentalists, who have lined up in opposition to his plan to cut down 19,000 trees for a 90-acre solar farm.

Yet in an interview Tuesday, the 50-year-old executive appeared to discount any possibility of changing course.

"Why would we?" Fitzgerald said, when asked if Six Flags was considering scaling down the project or finding an alternate site. "Because at the end of the day, it is the right thing for the environment, long-term."

Six Flags says the 21.9 megawatt solar array, which would be capable of generating virtually all the electricity the theme park needs, would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 226,000 tons over a period of 15 years, nearly 24 times what the undisturbed forest is capable of removing on its own.

That calculation doesn't include the added benefits from the replanting of nearly 26,000 trees elsewhere on the theme park's property, which Six Flags has pledged to do over a period of seven years.

"The biggest threat, from all the climatologists you talk to, is global warming," Fitzgerald said.

"This actually helps reduce the carbon footprint of humanity in the park. And the trees — we're replanting the trees. Now, it may take a few years for those trees to come on line, but eventually they will, so how can it not be a net gain for the environment?"

Parking lot nixed

Environmental groups, however, say green energy shouldn't come at the expense of a rich, woodland ecosystem like the one Six Flags plans to clear.

"There's a lot of places solar can go in New Jersey. We don't need to be chopping down forests to meet our clean energy goals," said Doug O'Malley, the director of Environment New Jersey.

Specifically, environmental leaders point to the theme park's expansive parking area, which stretches across nearly 100 acres, as an ideal alternative site.

But on Tuesday Fitzgerald reiterated the reasons he says that idea isn't viable.

"The problem with our parking lot is, it's not as large as people think it is," he said. "It's not even enough, or barely enough, to meet our peak demands."

Additionally, the parking area is used for outdoor concerts and charity events. A major fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity takes up one third of the parking area, he said.

"We really can't afford to lose any spaces at all because it would impinge on our ability to operate," he said.

"If we were talking about only generating 25 percent of our energy needs, it's a go. But we're trying to do something better for the environment," Fitzgerald said.

"You can't power a park of this size just by working off the roof, or even the parking lot. It's insufficient. So there's a trade-off. We plan on cutting down some trees. And I can understand why that can irk some (who feel) it could be damaging to the habitat and the animals," he said.

"But at the end of the day, we did do our homework. We ensured that we're not damaging the habitats of any of the endangered or threatened species in the area, and we're sure of that."

A bald eagle nest that environmentalists said was in the area is actually 4,000 feet, or about three-quarters of a mile, from the solar site, Fitzgerald said.

In addition, state-mandated buffers and berms will protect streams from runoff, most of which will flow back toward the adjacent safari park, he said.

Few complaints

Fitzgerald said Six Flags already had scaled down the size of the solar farm from 100 to 90 acres at the request of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

The project has been in development for the past three years, Fitzgerald said. Township officials have been apprised of the plans from the very start, he said.

Under the plan, KDC Solar, based in Bedminster, would lease the site, fund the construction of the facility, and sell the electricity it generates back to Six Flags, which would pay a lesser amount for the power than it does now, Fitzgerald said.

KDC would generate additional revenue by earning and re-selling Solar Renewable Energy Certificates to New Jersey electric providers. Buying such certificates allows those companies to avoid paying fees to the state. The prices vary depending on market conditions.

KDC is embroiled in another controversy in rural Bedminster, in Somerset County, N.J., where it has plans to build a solar array on the historic 132-acre Kirby Farm to generate power for the nearby Sanofi-Aventis office complex. About 79 acres of the land would remain open space.

Unlike that project, however, the Six Flags solar farm has generated little opposition from local residents. Fitzgerald said he's received only a "handful" of calls and letters critical of the project.

"I think most folks get it," he said. "Most folks are intelligent enough to see that the park has been a good custodian of the environment, and that the project is a net benefit to the environment.

"Not perfect by any means, we do understand that. But it is a net benefit."

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