One year after switch-on, a solar field installed at Infineum’s Linden site in North America is proving to be great for the environment and good for the business financially too.
The two-megawatt solar field, established on five acres of underutilised property and made up of more than six thousand panels, went live early last year.
Since then, the field has produced over three gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean electricity – about one third of the site’s total consumption for the year.
It’s the carbon reduction equivalent of planting over 50,000 trees or reducing gasoline consumption by nearly 230,000 gallons.
During weekends when the site electrical load was low, Infineum sent power back to the grid through a two-way meter helping offset electrical bills.
Overall, the field reduced site services utility costs by U$D 225,000 in 2020.
“We’re thrilled with production from the solar field in 2020. Not only are we contributing to a cleaner environment, but we have achieved the added benefit of reduced operational costs,” said Site Services Manager Bert Armeny.
The solar field has a life expectancy of 20 years which will bring significant benefits, not only to Infineum over the next two decades, but also help to preserve the local environment. By reducing emissions from our gas-fired power plant, Infineum is helping support cleaner air in New Jersey.
Sustainability Director Maurizio Abbondanza felt the project was a very visible step on Infineum’s sustainability journey:
“I feel inspired by the way the Linden team has embraced the challenge and delivered this project; I feel proud of the savings delivered for our organisation; and I feel grateful for the CO2 we have saved, supporting our quest to lower the footprint of our global operations.”
Look out for Infineum’s first Sustainability Report being released later this month.