By the end of 2008, the world headquarters of Merck & Co. Inc. in Whitehouse Station, N.J., will have the largest ground-mounted solar power tracking system in the eastern half of the U.S. A 1.6 MW SunPower solar tracking power system, comprising approximately 7,000 solar panels, will cover seven acres of Merck's 1,000-acre site.
Through a type of arrangement that is making large solar installations more feasible, the system will be owned and operated by UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp., to Merck under a 20-year power purchase agreement. UTC Power also will own, and be free to trade, the solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) and other environmental attributes associated with the system.
‘As a healthcare company, we are concerned about our environment,’ notes Roger Humphrey, executive director of Merck Global Site Services. ‘Supporting the use of clean, reliable solar power is consistent with our business mission. We also expect to realize energy savings by reducing the amount of electricity we need to purchase from the grid.’
The project is being developed by Dome-Tech, Inc., a UTC Power company based in New Jersey, which specializes in energy consulting and project development and has extensive solar energy experience.
SOURCES: Merck & Co., UTC Power
