Over the past six months, Millipore worked with several vendors to design and install the solar panel system, which includes 1383 Sharp panels and 4 Solectria inverters. It will produce about 352 000 KWH/yr or, approximately 35 homes worth of electricity, which will be used to augment the electricity purchased from the grid to run Millipore’s facilities. Millipore’s solar panel project is one of the largest solar photovoltaic projects ever completed in Massachusetts and is the first renewable energy project the company has implemented in the US.
“The primary focus of our sustainability program has been on reducing our environmental impacts—particularly waste, water and climate change,” said David Newman, Director of Sustainability for Millipore. “The changes we are implementing not only make sense for the environment, but they also have a considerable positive impact on our business. We are excited about completing the solar panel project, which marks an important continuation of our efforts to embrace renewable energy throughout the company.”
Millipore launched a sustainability initiative in 2008 focused on reducing the company’s impact on climate change, reducing waste, and changing employee behaviours.