Solar Panels for Manalapan-Englistown Schools Pulled This Year

The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District’s solar panel initiative has been pulled for this year. The district had recently considered options for funding a solar energy project to help finance two new roofs for and the .

Due to the Dec. 31 deadline for proposing a project to the Monmouth County Improvement Authority, Superintendent John J. Marciante decided to pull the project off of the agenda at the last board of education meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

The solar project initiative was presented to the Englishtown Borough Council at their monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 26, so it was perplexing when Marciante pulled approval of the solar project off of the Board agenda the next day.

Marciante would not comment on why the solar project was removed from the agenda at the Board of Education meeting, and told the Board he would explain in closed session his rationale for doing so.

When reached for comment, Marciante said that a representative of the solar project told him that the Englishtown Council was favorable to the idea, but would not act until Manalapan moved on the ordinance. Since the Manalapan Township Committee would not be able to vote on the ordinance for several meetings, Marciante said they “would no longer be on the fast track and would be part of the second phase of the County Project, the resolution as written did not reflect that so I had it pulled at this time.”

The solar project initiative is still something the district would like to pursue, and may move forward on the project next year.