Under a sky that was appropriately bright and sunny for the occasion, Dow Jones held a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Monday for a massive solar energy project on its Route 1 campus.
The project calls for 13,000 solar panels to be installed throughout parking areas on the 2,000-acre campus and will provide 15 to 50 percent of the site’s energy needs depending on the amount of sunlight.
New Jersey’s U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, spoke at the ceremony and pointed to the BP oil spill wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast as proof of the need to move away from a dependence on foreign oil and toward clean energy.
”As we watch oil fill the Gulf Coast it’s a constant reminder of our need to move away from fossil fuels,” Sen. Lautenberg said. “This solar energy project is proof that a clean-energy future is not only possible but it’s also profitable.”
Sen. Lautenberg heaped praise on Dow Jones and said an investment in solar energy can pay for itself within three years. Sen. Menendez also applauded the company for setting an example to be followed by other corporate entities.
”This is the first corporate example of what America’s clean energy future looks like,” Sen. Menendez said. “This takes us away from the fuels of the 19th century that have collectively impugned our environment.”
Sen. Menendez pointed to the U.S. buying $1 billion of foreign oil daily from "despotic nations who wish us ill” as another strong reason to move toward clean energy. Sen. Menendez said the U.S. provides these nations the resources to act on their despotism.
Also speaking at the ceremony was Bob Martin, state Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, who said Gov. Chris Christie is hoping other companies will follow Dow Jones’ lead. He also spoke of the possibilities of having solar projects placed on landfills and other unproductive land throughout the state.
The system that will be installed at Dow Jones will provide 3.6 megawatts of power from elevated solar panels above the parking areas and an additional 522 kilowatts from rooftop installations.
The power generated by the solar energy system will be used during times of sunlight to lessen the site’s electric needs from PSE&G. On weekends and holidays when the complex uses less energy, the electricity generated by the panels will be placed into PSE&G’s grid.
Dow Jones representatives said the multimillion-dollar project is expected to be completed by April 2011. They didn’t have a more specific cost for the project.
Tom Leyden, managing director of SunPower Corp., which will construct the system, said the cost of building solar installations easily beats the cost of constructing a nuclear power plant and is much quicker to build.
”Dow Jones can make a difference right here by investing in renewable energy and reducing our costs at the same time,” said Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton. “We’re here today because we made energy our priority.”
