Editor’s note: A Jackson Township resident adds this information to recent coverage of the Six Flags/Great Adventure solar array story
A REALLY GOOD DAY AT THE PARK
It was a joyous, joint celebration at the Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson Township this month.
Six Flags turned the switch and powered the largest amusement park in the world with solar arrays; the bulk of which were situated in their expansive, black-top parking lot where it generates electricity and protects vehicles from the baking sun.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney was there to cut the ribbon. Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) was there to cheer and advocate for one of these solar projects a day. The Six Flags executive brass was proud.
From published reports, it was a gleeful and back-slapping moment for renewable energy.
What wasn’t mentioned, recognized, or lauded was the road it took to get there.
The original Great Adventure plan called for over 90 acres of forest to be cleared to make way for the solar arrays. A coalition of environmental groups launched a staunch battle to save the forest while promoting solar where it would best serve the environment – in the parking lot.
Environmental groups, with Clean Water Action as the lead plaintiff, sued Great Adventure and KDC Solar, leading to a hard-won agreement that suited all parties.
Each environmental group contributed expertise, including; Save Barnegat Bay, Crosswicks Creek-Doctors Creek Watershed Association, New Jersey Conservation Association, NJ Sierra Club, Environment NJ, as well as Clean Water Action. The work included drone footage, threatened and endangered species evaluation, water quality study, grassroots mobilization, hearing attendance, activism, and more.
The coalition, with representation by Lavallette attorney, Michele Donato, raised important planning considerations that will hopefully prevail in other locations where solar is proposed.
Jackson Township is the now proud location of the world’s largest solar-powered amusement park. Six Flags is cutting-edge cool. KDC Solar gets quite an addition to their resume.
In return, over 200 acres that could have been developed have been permanently saved. Endangered species will not be disturbed and humans can park their cars under shady solar canopies.
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The remaining forest will provide protection and a buffer to the headwaters of the Toms River, a Category One waterway that provides drinking water to Shore residents and drains into the Barnegat Bay.
No one from the environmental community ever opposed Six Flags’ efforts to convert the park to renewable energy. It was applauded. It just needed to avoid threatened and endangered habitat in the forest and be located in an appropriate location – the blacktopped parking lot.
Great Adventure’s former CEO, Neil Thurman, deserves credit for sitting with the environmental community and grasping the environmental impact of the original plan. This might be languishing in court were it not for Thurman’s willingness to listen, learn, and have the courage to agree.
Whether we ride the Kingda Ka, El Toro, or the Bizarro or simply stroll around having an ice cream cone, let’s see Great Adventure as a shining example of the good that can be achieved when environmental groups, private companies, and municipalities work together. In this day of climate change, there is no room for us versus them.
All benefit from carefully thought out and crafted development plans that make the environment a first priority. At their best, the environmental community works together without ego and without credit for a shared goal that benefits the common good. One only has to take a ride at Great Adventure to experience it.
Peggi Sturmfels
Jackson Township
Peg Sturmfels is a 40-year Jackson Township resident, past president of the Jackson Board of Education, and current board member of Clean Water Action.
