JFK Medical Center Edison Gets Green Light For Solar Panels Over Parking Areas

EDISON — The Edison Planning Board has approved a plan by JFK Medical Center to construct solar canopy arrays over parking areas across its campus, a project designed to generate clean electricity for the hospital while reducing energy costs.

The application, submitted by ENFRA MCC LLC on behalf of JFK Medical Center at 65 James Street, calls for solar panels mounted on canopy structures over existing parking lots on six lots spanning the hospital's North and South campuses, divided by James Street.

All six lots are located within the educational-institutional zone and are already developed with existing parking areas.

Attorney Wendy Berger of Cole Schotz, representing the applicant, told the board the proposal is an accessory use to an inherently beneficial use — the hospital itself — and aligns with both state land use law and Edison's own 2024 Master Plan, which calls on the township to promote renewable energy sources, including solar.

"This application is a permitted use," Berger said. "Not only does it further the purposes of the municipal land use ordinance, but it also furthers the purposes of the master plan of Edison."

Because the project spans an active medical campus that cannot be shut down during construction, the applicant presented a detailed phasing plan to minimize disruption to patients, staff and daily operations.

An engineer for the project walked the board through the six-phase construction sequence. Early phases are confined to areas with no impact on patient parking, beginning with canopies over the maintenance building and staff parking areas on the south side of the facility.

Patient parking areas will not be affected until the project reaches Phase 4. The final phase covers the pediatric and family care building on the North Campus.

The project required two variances. The first involves setback requirements — but the engineer noted the setback deviations occur only along lot lines shared between hospital-owned parcels, meaning the canopies encroach on no neighboring properties outside the campus.

The second variance relates to parking space dimensions. Of the total parking spaces on the campus — which already exceeds the number required by township code — 22 spaces will be reduced to compact size to accommodate the solar canopy stanchions. Those spaces will be clearly marked as compact.

"The spaces are still there — they're just compact," Berger told the board. "That is the reason why."

The township's fire rescue and emergency services reviewed the application and submitted a letter dated Feb. 11, indicating no comments or concerns.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in June and be completed by September 2027.

Berger grounded the application in the legal framework of the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, citing a provision that specifically lists promoting the utilization of renewable energy resources among the act's stated purposes.

She also pointed to Edison's 2024 Master Plan, which states the township should "continue embracing sustainable energy sources such as solar" and calls for promoting renewable energy sources as a planning goal.

The solar arrays, once fully constructed, will supply electric power directly to the existing medical center, potentially lowering operating costs and the hospital's carbon footprint.

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