FLANDERS, N.J. & BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Benjamin Moore and Constellation Energy are nearing completion of a new solar power system that is expected to generate 68 percent of the electricity needs for Benjamin Moore’s 80,000 sq. ft. product development center and testing laboratories. The solar power system at the company’s Flanders, NJ, R&D facility comprises 8,600 crystalline photovoltaic solar panels, making it one of the largest on-site solar power systems in the state. The system is expected to begin producing electricity by year’s end. Benjamin Moore & Co., a Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE:BRK.A), teamed with the retail division of Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to develop the 1.7-megawatt system. Under a 20-year solar power purchase agreement, Benjamin Moore is providing the land and will purchase all of the electricity from the solar panels. Constellation Energy will build, own and maintain the system. The long-term solar power purchase agreement structure enables Benjamin Moore to undertake renewable energy generation with no upfront capital expenditure. Depending on conditions, the system is expected to produce nearly 2,230,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, enough to supply 68 percent of the electricity of the facility. Benjamin Moore and Constellation Energy are also exploring new energy conservation measures at the Flanders site to further reduce the facility’s overall electricity usage so that it can rely almost exclusively on the power generated by the solar array.
