Monroe Planning Board approves two rooftop community-solar projects serving low- and moderate-income customers
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Summary
The Monroe Township Planning Board approved Solar Landscape’s two community-solar rooftop projects — at 2 South Middlesex Ave and 1 Jabara Way — granting D1 use variances and limited bulk variances after testimony from the applicant’s counsel, engineer and planner; the projects are expected to serve about 325 and 454 homes respectively at a roughly 20% bill credit.
The Monroe Township Planning Board on the evening approved two community-solar rooftop projects from Solar Landscape, granting the use and limited bulk variances the company sought to install rooftop panels and associated ground equipment at 2 South Middlesex Avenue and 1 Jabara Way.
Solar Landscape counsel Anthony Zurillo told the board both projects require D1 variances because “community solar is not a permitted use in the LI zone,” and the company is also seeking bulk relief to locate ground-mounted equipment and to accommodate slight increases in lot coverage at the larger site.
Courtney Breese, preconstruction manager for Solar Landscape, described community solar to the board as a way for renters and homeowners to receive bill credits without installing their own systems: “Community solar programs allow all homeowners and renters to receive savings,” she said, explaining that subscribers receive consolidated-billing credits from the utility and that state rules require 51% of subscriptions be directed to low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers.
Project specifics presented to the board show the South Middlesex site would serve about 325 homes at an estimated 20% discount and use roughly 3,673 solar modules; the applicant described annual output in the hearing record using the figure “2,673 megawatts a year” (the same witness equated that to roughly 2,000,673 kilowatt-hours per year). Breese said the panels have a projected 25-year life, that an executed lease is in place with the property owner, and that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (through its community-solar program) and the utility JCP&L are involved in project approval and interconnection.
For the 1 Jabara Way site, the applicant said the project would serve about 454 homes at the same approximate discount and deploy about 5,312 modules with an applicant-stated annual output figure in the record of approximately 3,700,000 kilowatt-hours. That site is in both LI and FHC zones and requires two bulk variances: for equipment located in a front-yard area and for a de minimis increase in impervious lot coverage (from 60.6% existing to 60.7% proposed).
Engineer Ryan Hollosi and planner Andrew Janiw described technical and land-use details. Hollosi testified that rooftop panels would sit flat, adding about five inches to roof height, and that inverters add roughly three feet, keeping the structures under the 45-foot zoning height limit cited for the sites. He identified ground equipment — transformer pads, switchgear and utility poles — and located the proposed equipment away from primary frontages on both sites. Janiw testified the projects advance master-plan goals promoting renewable energy and that, in his professional opinion, the positive public benefits (reduced energy costs and added renewable generation, including allocations to LMI customers) outweigh the limited negative impacts under the municipal land use law balancing tests the board applies.
Board professionals reviewed the record in public and confirmed outstanding review-letter comments would be addressed; the applicant agreed to provide additional evergreen screening around ground equipment if required. The applicant also documented a decommissioning procedure and said it includes a six-month decommissioning timeline and options for panel recycling.
After questioning from board members and brief public inquiry, motions to approve each application were made and seconded. The board’s roll-call votes recorded the following affirmative votes on both applications: Mister Lupo, Miss Caratore, Mister Tanzi (Tanzi/Tansey appears in the transcript), Mister Jaffe, Mister Begani and Chairman Lafada. Both motions carried.
What happens next: the approvals allow the applicant to pursue final permits and interconnection approvals with the utility and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The board included standard conditions referenced in engineering and planning review letters; the applicant agreed to meet those conditions and work with board staff on required screening and final plan modifications.
Authorities and review materials mentioned at the hearing include the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities community-solar program, the municipal land use law and the township’s master plan and zoning ordinance; the applicant referenced engineering and planning review letters (dated in the record).
