YMCA Sets Tentative Date for Solar Panel Install

The hopes to see construction on solar panels on its roof and parking lot begin in March, according to Somerset Valley YMCA officials.

Though the Somerset Valley YMCA received approval for the panels in July, it’s a three-pronged project—the panels will be installed at the YMCA’s Bridgewater and Somerville locations, too.

But the delay from the Bridgewater YMCA's approval meant Sunstream USA, the developer and panel owner, could not begin construction when the other sites were approved.

Since . Instead, the YMCA would use parking lot panels exclusively, which left residents concerned about the panel visibility and glare onto the roadway. However, the Bridgewater Zoning Board of Adjustment did approve a variance allowing the panels.

“We did not get approval from Bridgewater until December,” said Bev McCarron, director of marketing for the Somerset Valley YMCA. “We need to have approvals from all three townships in order to start. We wanted to make sure all the papers and permits were synchronized.”

In Hillsborough, the YMCA needed to seek approval for the parking lot panels. The YMCA will have the same number of parking spaces, however, the panels will be placed at an angle above the spaces. The panels’ highest point will be 17 feet in the air, according to the site plan. The YMCA building and the Department of Public Works building provide buffers for the south and south-west portions of the building, and the contractor would plant evergreen trees to supplement existing trees on the site.

The YMCA expects to save $2 million in energy costs between the three sites over a 15-year period, McCarron said.

“We are looking forward to getting this started,” she said. “It will help us go green, which is something everyone wants to be these days.”