Newark, NJ Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Newark's Zoning and Land Use Ordinance defines SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM (GROUND/ROOF MOUNTED, OVER PARKING LOTS AND STRUCTURED PARKING) in Section 41:2-2 as any solar collector, panel, film, shingle or other solar device mounted on a building or the ground, including appurtenant structures, whose primary purpose is collecting, storing and distributing solar energy to power the property where it sits. Table 4-1, the Accessory Uses portion of the Residential Districts table, lists Solar Energy Systems as permitted (P) with no conditional use review in all six residential zones, R-1 through R-6, the identical treatment given to Swimming Pools, Private on the same table.

By contrast, the neighboring row for Wind Energy Systems, Small, marks every one of those same six zones Conditionally Permitted (C), meaning a wind turbine needs a conditional use hearing before the Central Planning Board that a rooftop solar array does not. Section 41:5-5-1, the Title's Height Exceptions rule, gives rooftop equipment on buildings four stories or taller up to 10 extra feet of height if it is set back from the roof edge by at least its own height and the combined footprint of all such appurtenances stays under 20% of the roof area; the same paragraph states that mechanical units and solar panels shall not count toward the 20% limit, so a solar array does not eat into that cap the way HVAC equipment or elevator overruns do.

Because Solar Energy Systems sit on the by-right accessory use table, an installer does not need a variance or conditional use approval from the Zoning Officer to add panels to a qualifying residential building, only compliance with the applicable building and electrical permit process.