Brightcore Celebrates the Completion of Berkeley Heights’ Largest Solar Canopy Installation

Updated: Oct 26, 2022

The Connell Company and Brightcore Energy celebrated the completion of Berkeley Heights’ largest solar parking canopy installation to date, located within Connell’s The Park, a 185-acre work-life campus delivering a hospitality-centric solution to the traditional, multi-tenanted office.

The Mayor of Berkeley Heights, Mayor Angie Devanney, joined executives from Connell and Brightcore at the ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the project, which in addition to being the largest project of its kind in Berkeley Heights, is also one of the largest solar parking canopy installations in the state of New Jersey.

The project consists of 9,158 solar panels affixed to parking canopies and on the rooftop of 100 Connell Drive, which houses the new innovation hub for Fiserv, a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions. The panels cover approximately 1,500 parking spaces, including 38 electric vehicle charging stations, and 100,000 square feet of the building’s roof area. The installation is expected to generate roughly 4.9 million kWh annually — the equivalent of enough carbon-free electricity to power 560 homes for the next 30 years.

"At The Park, we are constantly looking for opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint," said Shane Connell, Executive Vice President of The Connell Company. “Sustainability remains top of mind as we consider how to transform and improve the office experience in ways that not only lead to increased tenant and employee satisfaction, but also contribute to the greater good of our community. Brightcore has been an ideal energy service provider in cultivating a more green campus and we’re very proud to see this initiative come to fruition.”

In addition to the 100 Connell Drive solar installation, Brightcore also developed a second rooftop-mounted solar project at The Park’s 200 Connell Drive. The company aims to help others dramatically reduce their reliance on fossil fuels through a comprehensive approach to both energy efficiency and clean energy resources. Based on an assumed $.10/kWh of utility avoided cost, Brightcore estimates the 100 Connell Drive project’s cost savings will translate to $496,843 annually —     
or more than $12.4 million over the system's              Brightcore President Mike Richter with Shane Connell
25-year life cycle                                                               and Duane Connell, of the Connell Company

"Brightcore is thrilled to work with Connell on this project. We face enormous challenges today in terms of energy affordability, strain on the grid, and of course, climate disruption," said Mike Richter, President of Brightcore Energy. "Connell is doing what they can to address these growing issues and it matters. Hopefully, we all take a cue from their leadership and become the change that we so desperately need."