A Salem apartment complex is slated to be a part of one of the state’s largest single-site solar projects, according to an announcement from Princeton Properties, the complex’s owner.
The project at the on Heritage Drive is expected to begin this fall and will consist of the installation of almost to 2,000 roof-mounted photovoltaic panels.
GroSolar is designing the 347 kilowatt project. The panels will power 100 percent of the common areas in the apartment community.
Common areas in the 300,375-square-foot complex range from the parking lot lights to the laundry facilities. The solar electric system is expected to save about $73,000 annually in the site’s electric bill.
"We’ve always been concerned with efficiency and responsible development. We consider this a first step into the solar arena and hope to incorporate more projects into our company’s green efforts," said Kurt Shillington, operations manager at Princeton Properties. "Once groSolar did the feasibility studies and showed us the numbers, we realized that solar was an affordable piece of the puzzle. It just made sense."
