In Hackettstown, New Jersey, where a factory churns
out one of America's favorite candies - bite-sized, candy-coated
chocolate drops - the predominate color today is green. The color-
coated candies, of course, still come in various shades, but the facility
producing them is so "green" it almost hurts to look. Candy-maker
Mars just installed the largest single solar photovoltaic installation in
the nation at a food-production plant, as well as the largest in the
state. A joint effort between Mars and Public Service Enterprise
Group's (PSEG's) solar division, Solar Source, the 2.2-megawatt array,
comprised of 28,680 solar panels on an 18-acre field adjacent to the
factory, will provide 20 percent of the candy plant's electricity during
peak load, or enough to electrify about 1,800 homes. It will also reduce
carbon emissions by 1,000 metric tons each year, or the equivalent of
removing about 200 cars from the road.
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The system, installed under a power purchase agreement which allows
Mars to buy the entire electricity output while PSEG Solar Source
operates and maintains it, was designed and installed by Boulder,
Colorado-based juwi solar Inc., which will also oversee initial
operations and provide some maintenance services. The thin-film
solar photovoltaic (PV) panels come courtesy of Tempe, Arizona-based
First Solar, one of the premier solar panel manufacturers in the nation.
These panels, which are not available through wholesalers or retailers,
are part of First Solar's commitment to deliver quality by only working
through a select group of independent power project developers and system
integrators. This allows First Solar to manage the life cycle of its
modules from raw material sourcing through collection and recycling. In
February, First Solar announced that it had broken the $1-per-watt
barrier. The solar project, being referred to as a "solar garden"
is the 11th-largest of its kind in the U.S., and cost upwards of $10
million, adding to New Jersey's renewable energy portfolio, which calls
for 30 percent (from renewables) by 2020. Mars, which also makes
Snickers and Twix, has been renovating its Hackettstown site, a combined
corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility, with an eye toward
earning LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold
certification for its solar array, water-conserving toilets, sinks and
water fountains, a Building Energy Management System that operates as an
industrial-sized Smart Grid monitor and modulator, and energy efficiency
lighting, among other improvements.
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/mars-candy-installs-
largest-food-production-solar-power-installation-1666401.html