Merck headquarters in Readington, NJ to harness the sun with new solar panels
By WALTER O’BRIEN, STAFF WRITER
Readington, September 2, 2008
Source: Central Jersey.com
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080902/
The largest ground-mounted solar-power tracking system east of the Mississippi River is coming to the Whitehouse Station section of the township. Merck & Co. is installing a 1.6-megawatt solar power tracking system utilizing about 7,000 solar panels covering seven acres of its 1,000-acre world headquarters site before the end of 2008. The project is expected to generate 2.5 million kilowatt-hours annually, reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by more than 1,300 tons each year.
“Merck has set an overall corporate goal of reducing our carbon footprint by 12 percent by the year 2012,” said Art Kaufman, Merck’s director of global communications. “We believe that projects such as this one will help us to achieve that goal.”. “The environmental benefit equates to removing 216 automobiles from the road, or planting 268 acres of trees annually,” Kaufman said. “These are state-of-the-art panels that actually track the sun, so you need fewer panels than before to generate the same amount of electricity.”
Construction on the system began this month, and hopes are that it will be operational by the end of this year. Once completed, the project will be among the largest of its type at any corporate setting in the country. Kaufman said the installation will not be visible from outside Merck’s property. “We were very careful to select an area that lends itself to this type of development,” Kaufman said. “”Grass will grow underneath the panels, which will not interfere with the wildlife in the area.”
Julia C. Allen, Readington Township’s deputy mayor and a Planning Board member, said that the board was glad to accommodate Merck’s short window of opportunity for the project to stay on schedule and meet the state’s energy program goals while being completed before federal tax-credit programs sunset on Dec. 31. “We’re very pleased and proud to have Merck be such a responsible and forward-thinking corporate citizen in our township,” Allen said.
Allen said that Merck’s actions will set an example for industries across New Jersey, beyond Readington, and show that the corporate community is taking global warming seriously and responsibly. “Everything starts at the local level, and this is a huge step forward,” Allen said. “”It’s no surprise that Merck would be one of the first to take such a step.”
Roger Humphrey, Merck’s executive director of global services, confirmed that Merck is concerned about their environment. “Supporting the use of clean, reliable solar power is consistent with our business mission,” Humphrey said. “”We also expect to realize energy savings by reducing the amount of electricity we need to purchase from the grid.”
The high-efficiency system will be installed by SunPower and be owned and operated by UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. company, under a 20-year purchasing agreement with Merck that makes large solar installations such as this economically feasible. The installation will cost Merck nothing — the company will pay only for the power generated. The system will provide from solar power roughly seven percent of the electrical energy needs of Merck’s 2,800 headquarters employees.
UTC Power declined to disclose the cost of the installation, calling the information confidential. UTC Power will own, and be free to trade, the Solar Renewable Energy Certificates and other environmental attributes associated with the system. “UTC Power is expanding its capability to provide clean energy and sustainable services for building owners,” said Ken Fox, UTC Power vice president of on-site power solutions. “While our traditional focus has been on fuel cell and microturbine-based products, we recognize our customers may require a broader range of services, products and financial solutions to meet their energy needs.”
The project is being developed by Dome-Tech Inc., the Edison-based UTC Power-owned company that specializes in energy consulting and project development, and has extensive solar-energy experience. Dome-Tech has performed energy audits and services for Merck for over 15 years, ensuring efficient energy use at Merck facilities. “Companies like Merck that take a comprehensive approach and combine traditional energy-conservation measures with supporting clean, renewable-energy sources are the most effective at reducing energy consumption and helping to reverse the effects of climate change,” said Charles Braunstein, president of Dome-Tech.