Middletown To Build Car Canopy With Solar Panels At Train Station

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown seeks to build a car canopy with solar panels on top of it at the NJ Transit station parking lot on Church Street.

On Feb. 5, Middletown applied to the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to build the car canopy/solar farm. If the BPU approves it, Middletown says it will have to either trim or entirely remove about 20 trees from around the train station parking lot so they don't block the sun.

This represents about .65 acres of trees from the seven-acre train station parking lot site. The canopy will cover about half of the train station parking lot.

Residents may be familiar with the BPU as this is the same powerful state board that ultimately rejected JCP&L's power line expansion project in the area a few years ago.

Middletown Mayor Tony Perry and the entire Middletown Township Committee, all Republican, signed off on the solar farm plan.

"The proposed parking canopy solar facility will enhance the parking area by providing shade and cover from inclement weather for Middletown citizens," wrote Middletown in its application.

The energy generated from the solar farm would be used exclusively to power two affordable-housing senior apartment complexes located nearby, meant for low-to moderate-income seniors. (The Middletown Housing Authority pays the electric bills for those buildings.) The town estimates the solar panels would output about 2.255 megawatts, which the NJ Sierra Club says is not a huge amount of power. (The NJ Sierra Club wants to advance solar energy in the state.)

It's enough to give a 10-20 percent reduction to the 252 total residential units there, the town says. Middletown would run the solar power through existing Jersey Central Power & Light lines to the senior housing.

An exact dollar figure for how much it costs to build the canopy was not provided, but Middletown would use federal and state energy tax credits to pay for it. There will be no cost to Middletown or its residents to build the car canopy/solar panels, said town administrator Anthony Mercantante.

"We plan to freshly pave stripe the lot in conjunction with the work, but that is something that we do every 10 years or so anyway," he said.

Here is a map of where the car canopy would be built, with solar panels on top. This was taken from Middletown's application to the BPU:

“This is a good step, but the state needs to do more," said Jeff Tittel of the NJ Sierra Club. "Right now, our community solar program has a cap of five megawatts. That means that if Middletown wants to expand the project, they couldn’t do more than five megawatts total. We need to expand our community solar program and make it permanent. If the maximum was increased to 10 or even up to 20 MW, we could power many more homes with community solar."

“Middletown is taking important steps forward when it comes to community solar," he continued. "This would be one of the first community solar projects in the area and would allow nearby residents to benefit from solar energy. Putting solar over parking lots is important because it saves open space. Projects like this are an important way to bring solar to more people across the state, especially those who can’t afford it on their own. For too long, solar power has only been available to wealthier communities. With projects like Middletown’s solar farm, more people will be able to access the benefits of using solar.”

Middletown says it will create about 23 temporary jobs to construct the car canopy with solar panels on top.

Middletown going green

Solar panels at the train station parking lot are only the latest step Middletown is taking to invest in "green" or renewable energy.

Middletown also plans to install four to eight electric vehicle charging stations in the train station parking lot, all of which the town says "will further the sustainable vision of Middletown."

Last week, the Middletown Township Committee also voted unanimously to update the Township’s land-use ordinance to comply with the state's Green Infrastructure Rule.

The new rules include requiring builders of larger developments to include features like rain gardens and green roofs to decrease the amount of storm water runoff from impervious surfaces. Other towns like Long Branch and Eatontown have also recently adopted similar storm water ordinances.

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