News

Posted On: 07/18/2006

Merck Installs First Rooftop Solar Energy System

PharmaManufacturing.com

If timing is everything, the conservation energy team at Merck looks very smart today.

In late 2004, the team began investigating different ways to use clean energy sources for the company’s century-old facility in Rahway, N.J., which employs about 4,000 people and is home to research, manufacturing, storage and administrative activities.

By late last year, the drugmaker was in the throes of installing its first large-scale solar energy system, which combines fuel cell technology and 1,500 solar panels capable of generating 500 kilowatts. In fact, the system, which was unveiled this past June, provides almost all of the electricity needed for a mixed-use building on the 210-acre campus, and a large chunk of energy needs for another building, which is primarily a warehouse.

"There’s no question that timing is important," said Mo Menon, project manager in Merck’s engineering services department in Rahway, which is located less than an hour from Merck headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J. "But the real impetus was driven more by the environment. We were looking to find ways to produce clean energy and become environmentally friendly. This actually got started before the big run-up in oil prices recently."

Over the anticipated 30-year life of the system, Merck expects that it will yield big benefits. An analysis that was undertaken to validate the project determined that Merck will be able to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 3,430 tons, which is equivalent to 7,250 barrels of oil, by taking advantage of power from the sun. To install the solar panels cost about $3.3 million, according to Menon, although figures weren’t available for the fuel cell installation.

The solar system atop Merck's Rahway, N.J. facility is the largest, roof-mounted solar installation in the state. What began as a clean energy project looks to be a source of significant cost savings for decades to come.

The installation drew praise from New Jersey officials, who are eager to attract and retain pharmaceutical industry operations, while at the same time, encouraging large manufacturers of every sort to take steps to conserve energy and reduce pollution. Lisa Jackson, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, called it a "major step...to ensure a healthy environment and a healthy economy."

Indeed, the effort is unprecedented in a couple of ways. For one thing, this marks the largest, roof-mounted solar installation in the state. Moreover, it's the first clean energy system of its kind to integrate fuel cell technology and solar power at a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey.

"By integrating solar and fuel cell generation systems, Merck has proven that clean energy technologies can be part of an effective, long-term strategy for companies looking to bring their energy spending under control," Jeanne Fox, president of New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities, said in a statement. The regulatory agency provided Merck with a total of $2.6 million in incentives in the form of rebates as part of the state’s clean energy program.

One of the two Merck buildings on which the solar panels were installed is powered by a 200-kilowatt fuel cell, which makes clean energy by using hydrogen from natural gas. The building is now almost entirely self-sufficient in producing needed electricity, with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company.

The photovoltaic panel installation uses high-efficiency solar panels and specialized roof-mounting technology. "If you have electrical demand in a building and space on the roof, you can put them in," said Ken Patricco, a Merck project engineer. "And you don’t need much space at all to install fuel cell technology. You take the box and cables, and go from there. It’s relatively simple."

Not surprisingly, the new system is now seen as a benchmark for other Merck facilities. In announcing the successful installation, the drugmaker called its system a "prototype" for other New Jersey companies. A Merck spokeswoman declined to be specific about possible plans or locations, but she did say that the drugmaker is interested in looking at clean energy systems for other buildings. Merck also has large operations in and around West Point, Pa.

The installation was handled by Dome-Tech Solar, a company based in nearby Edison, N.J., that earlier this year installed a solar-energy system on a building in Somerset, N.J., belonging to Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon medical device unit. The 250-kilowatt system will offset production of more than 4,700 tons of carbon dioxide. Unlike the Merck project, however, this system didn’t harness fuel-cell technology.