Brick Shopping Center Approved for Solar Array, Ground Station

The Laurel Square shopping center, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A shopping center in the northern portion of the township will become home to one of the largest solar energy arrays in the area, with hundreds of panels due to be installed on the roof of several major stores, along with a ground station that will handle its connection to the electrical grid.

The township’s Zoning Board of Adjustment adopted the plan’s approval at its meeting Oct. 8, authorizing the solar array as a second principal use of the Laurel Square shopping center, which currently houses Livoti’s supermarket, At Home, and Ashley Furniture, among other businesses. The 31-acre site is located between state highways 70 and 88, with frontage on both, and was recently approved to be developed with several new quick-serve restaurants.

According to a memorandum from Township Planner Tara Paxton, board approvals are not normally required for the simple placement of solar panels on the roof of a building, however the array in this case is large enough to represent a second principal use of the property. The panels will be installed on top of the two main buildings of the shopping center – the largest building to the south and the other to the north – with the ground station proposed for a vacant area next to the rear of the At Home store (formerly K-Mart). The solar panels will not power the shopping center itself, but will connect directly to the grid. The project is part of the state’s Community Solar Program, which provides subsidies to property owners and developers to place solar panels on top of their buildings.

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Solar panels at the former French’s Landfill site. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The majority of the utility connections will be underground, however the ground station will be developed with a disconnect switch, inverters, transformers, a switchboard, and a metering facility for JCP&L. A six-foot privacy fence will surround the ground station, with the township’s municipal engineer also having recommended bollards to prevent vehicle mishaps from affecting the site.

The board unanimously approved the application. Laurel Square is owned by Brixmor, a commercial real estate holding firm. The solar array will be developed by Solar Landscape of Asbury Park.