The medical industry is increasingly embracing solar power and GlaxoSmithKline is the latest large company to begin utilising solar energy to provide electricity at one of its facilities.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Consumer Healthcare has commenced construction on what it says is North America’s largest rooftop solar power system at its Northeast Regional Distribution Center in York, Pennsylvania.
Close to 11,000 solar panels will spread over an area around the size of seven American football fields.
The 3 megawatt system is expected to generate approximately 3.4 million kilowatt hours of energy per year. This will enable the facility to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3,000 tons annually. The solar panels will produce enough electricity to meet the annual energy requirements 400 average sized U.S. homes.
The project’s completion will herald the first time a GSK building anywhere in the world will source 100% of its electricity needs from solar energy.
Four other solar farm projects were recently completed at GSK facilities in Pennysylvania., North Carolina; Belgium and Singapore.
“We hope that GSK’s renewable energy strategy will inspire other companies to look for ways to protect our planet,” said John Clarke, president of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.
Closer to home, Johnson & Johnson Medical recently unveiled a 200kW rooftop solar power system at the company’s North Ryde facility in Sydney’s north west. Consisting of 952 Sanyo HIT solar panels, SMA inverters and a Sunlock solar panel mounting system; the system was installed by Apollo Energy and its subsidiary, Energy Matters.
