The ground-mounted system is expected to be completed by the end of the month and will generate 1.2 MW of electricity, and is expected to save the lab’s owner, Alcatel-Lucent, about $2.5 million over the next 15 years.
The 3,700 panel solar array was designed and installed by Sunpower Corporation. Con Edison Development, an arm of the local utility, will lease the land beneath it from Alcatel-Lucent, which will then buy electricity from ConEdison at a considerably reduced rate.
“Solar power makes good sense today for utilities, business and homes in New Jersey, and is complemented by attractive incentives provided by the state,” said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial business group.
Located on a six acre “front lawn” of the sprawling 200-acre Bell Labs site, the solar power array will be eventually hidden by decorative fencing, well-positioned trees, native shrubs and other plantings.
Michael Davis, senior real estate manager for Alcatel-Lucent who is overseeing the project, said "the corporate goal was to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent and explore the use of other methods of using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to help reach that goal.”
According to US Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the new solar system at Bell Labs will offset the production of more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over a 30 year period, which is equivalent to removing more than 8,550 cars from New Jersey’s highways.
“Alcatel-Lucent has made a serious commitment to environmental sustainability, and this is one step we are taking to honour that commitment,” said Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs.
In addition to its early pioneering role in the development of solar panel technology, the lab’s technology has played a significant role in the US space program. Its soar battery cells have powered everything from satellites to the International Space Station and the Mars Rover.
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