Developers Make the Case for Solar Power

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Developers Make the Case for Solar Power

Rooftop arrays are slowly gaining popularity

By Evelyn Lee
2/25/2008

SOUTH KEARNY—In a drive to create more environmentally friendly buildings, a handful of industrial developers in New Jersey are looking at solar power as a way to reduce energy costs and enhance the marketability of their warehouse and distribution facilities. These companies are still a minority among developers who, for the most part, remain convinced that solar installations may be more problematic than beneficial.

Industrial buildings tend to be a good fit for solar-panel installations, says Anthony Marchetta, vice president and principal at LCOR, a Berwin, Pa.-based developer that builds extensively in New Jersey. “Because they’re just one story, they have these massive roofs,” Marchetta says. And since many warehouse and distribution facilities have limited electrical requirements, putting solar panels on the roofs of these buildings can produce more energy than they use. “They can actually be an electricity generator,” he says.

The economic benefits of solar energy have led some developers to install rooftop systems. “You’re creating power with this one-time investment for at least the next 25 years,” says Robert Neu, vice president of River Terminal Development (RTD), a Kearny-based industrial and office developer.

In 2006, RTD installed one of the state’s largest single-building rooftop solar power systems on a 77,300-square-foot building at the company’s 100 Central Ave. industrial complex in South Kearny. During its first full year of operation in 2007, the system generated 713,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, which accounted for nearly 7 percent of the power supply for the 10-building, 2.4 million-square-foot complex. This has saved the company about $100,000 in electric costs a year, says Neu.

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