Page 14 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • April 13, 2011 Waldwick The Borough of Waldwick, one of the strongest opponents to Public Service Gas & Electric Company’s installation of solar panels on utility poles, has decided to drop its public objections. “To try to stop now, it’s like putting the horses back in the barn after they left four days ago,” Borough Administrator Gary Kratz told the mayor and council last week. Kratz said that a number of towns in the area had voiced concern about the panels, but that the utility has Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approval and already ahs installed two-thirds to three-quarters of the 300,000 panels it expects to install state wide. “It’s basically a done deal, so we would spend a lot of money to oppose the program, and we would not be successful,” Kratz said. Kratz said, instead, that he would write to the BPU on behalf of the governing body asking that towns be consulted on issues affecting the rights of way before they become “fait accompli.” The administrator said that efforts to negotiate with PSE&G to share some of the revenue with the town “had not worked out,” because there had not been enough advance notice. Kratz said that about 200 panels would be installed throughout the town. He said scouts had surveyed the town and decided on the locations. To a question from Councilman Tom Giordano as to whether residents would be affected, Kratz said that most poles are not located directly in front of homes, so the impact would be minimized. Al Matos, vice president for renewable energy and a 30year PSE&G veteran, spoke in Wyckoff last week about the program, aimed at fulfilling a state and federal mandate for increased solar power by installing the panels on poles PSE&G already owns. “We’re trying to find every good use of land, roof, or utility pole to play solar,” Matos said. “We don’t do any tree cutting around these towns. If a tree happens to grow Borough won’t fight PSE&G solar panel installation to shade the panel, we move the panel.” Matos said New Jersey is already the second strongest solar energy player in the industry, ranking behind California, and that New Jersey law mandates that approximately four percent of all electric generation in the state come from solar sources by 2020. The utility company’s Solar 4 All program installs solar panels on appropriate poles -- those with the most sunlight -- and connects the panels directly to houses nearby, so that as power is needed it can be tapped directly from the solar panel on the pole. Matos compared the electricity in the grid to tap water: If the resident needs the electricity, it will flow from the solar panel, and if not the electricity will continue through the grid to other homes and businesses. Use of poles, Matos said, would preserve open space around the state, where 87,000 individual solar panels have already been installed and 150,000 solar panels is the desired goal. He said that the panels had been tested to withstand 110-mile-an-hour winds, and snowballs and ice, and would not topple from the poles in any event that was not utterly catastrophic. Wyckoff Committeeman Brian Scanlan said that he had some issues with the emphasis on utility pole installation as opposed to grouping clusters of panels in an area where they would be unobtrusive. “There are schools with flat roofs, there are warehouses with flat roofs -- I would have liked to have put them there,” Scanlan said. Wyckoff resident Sue Van Wentin said she had spoken to people in Germany, which has sun-and-cloud patterns somewhat similar to Wyckoff’s, who said that solar panels didn’t function especially well. She said a few weeks ago that even friends in Israel, which is sunny most of the year, were disappointed with solar water heating, and urged that America continue to rely on gas, oil, and coal. Matos said that with the exceptions made for heavily shaded utility poles and for historical home sites, the utility company would need every free pole it could locate to make the program work. Zumba® event moved to Saint Luke’s The community response to the April 29 Zumba ® Fitness Fundraiser has been so great that the event has been moved to Saint Luke’s Church gym to accommodate the larger than anticipated crowd. All proceeds from this event will benefit Kisses 4 Kelly, which was established to assist 16-year-old Waldwick resident Kelly Bjork, who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Everyone between the ages of 13 and 99 is invited to the Zumba ® Fitness Fundraiser. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the fundraiser will continue until 8:30 p.m. The cost is $20 per person in advance, or $25 at the door. Shelley Capener, a Zumba ® instructor and member of the Waldwick Chamber of Commerce, organized this event on behalf of Bjork. Capener will host the event, and has invited guest instructors Missy Avalo, Tracey Zysman, and Stacie DeSena to participate in the event. “We are so excited about this,” Capener said. “Zumba instructors of Waldwick will be working together to help a Waldwick family. Normally, we do fundraisers for the Susan G. Komen fund, the American Heart Association, the Red Cross/Haiti earthquake relief, etc. I am so proud to be a part of a community that comes together and helps each other.” FOR RENT Championship Golf, Tennis, No Crowds On Fripp Island, South Carolina 4 th ANNUAL 5 K RUN AND 1 MILE WALK The Villadom TIMES will be publishing a special section to promote this annual event. Don’t miss your chance to reach local consumers. Publication Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Waterfront house on Fripp Island, SC (near historic Beaufort and Parris Island). 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