N.J. warehouse in the spotlight for use of photovoltaic power
Warehousing may not have the glamour of Jane Fonda or the Atlanta Braves, but Ted Turner was in New Jersey last week to publicize work on the installation of 4,000 solar panels on the roof of a Hall’s Warehouse facility in South Plainfield.
Jeanne M. Fox, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said the project, which will eventually include 8,000 panels installed to power two refrigerated warehouses, will be “the largest corporate solar installation in the United States.”
The panels are expected to produce 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The system also is anticipated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 24,000 tons over its 30-year operating life and save the business more than $600,000 a year in energy costs.
Turner announced in January that he was partnering with Dome-Tech Solar to create DT Solar, which claims to be the largest installer of photovoltaic systems on the U.S. East Coast and the fourth-largest in the country.
DT Solar said it would initially focus on providing on-site solar electric power systems for commercial and industrial clients, as well as developing larger, utility-scale solar power plants in the U.S. Southwest.