Benjamin Moore Paints To Install 1.9 Megawatt Solar Farm
Author: Elysia Niemi
Author: Elysia Niemi
Mount Olive, New Jersey-based house-paint giant Benjamin Moore says it wants to install more than 9,100 ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels to produce 1.9 megawatts of power, or enough to power 70 percent of its R&D center on Flanders-Bartley Road, a site currently occupied by cornfields.
The company got approval recently from the citys zoning board to install the panels on nine acres of a 92-acre property currently owned by Benjamin Moore. The project still needs a go-ahead from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Morris County planning department, and the Morristown & Erie Railroad, which runs in the same direction as Flanders-Bartley Road about 1,500 feet distant. State approval is needed because the proposed solar farm is located within the Highlands region, an historic preservation and open spaces area.
When completed, it will be the first company facility to generate some of its own electricity via solar panels, according to Benjamin Moore spokeswoman Eileen McComb, who added that company intends in the future to move toward a new energy grid at all its U.S. locations.
The panels will reportedly be three feet by six feet, and tilted in a fixed array at a 35-degree angle to capture as much solar insolation as possible. In New Jersey, this value (3.0, on a scale of 2.0 to 6.0 in the continental U.S.) is sufficient to make solar power a winning proposition, as are the states roughly 260 days of sun per year.
According to Mount Olives Mayor, David Scapicchio, the Benjamin Moore installation will be the townships first, non-residential solar installation. According to Scapicchio, Benjamin Moore will be the first non-residential entity to install solar panels in Mount Olive. He said it would enhance the township's efforts to become more environmentally friendly.
The Benjamin Moore Flanders facility employs over 200 individuals. Established since 1992, it includes a 4.5-acre testing facility, which develops new mixtures and samples paint in the real world to determine its durability.
The Natura paint line, an eco-friendly, zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) indoor paint line containing a proprietary, 100-percent acrylic resin to deliver durability, is a prime example of Benjamin Moores move into a cleaner, greener future. According to the company, Natura is fully competitive with Green Seals GS-11 standard, though the company plans to perform independent testing and will thus not seek GS-11 certification.
GS-11 is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard for interior paints which maintain VOC emission levels less than 50 grams of VOC per liter for flat paints and 150 grams of VOC per liter for non-flat paints. The good news for Benjamin Moore is that specified paints dont need to go through formal Green Seal certification processes. They just need to meet GS-11 specifications.About the Author:
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