MURRAY HILL, NJ-Alcatel-Lucent today “flipped the switch” at its newest solar farm, located at 600 Mountain Avenue, at the Bell Labs campus here. The six-acre farm is particularly appropriate for the 3,728-panel, 1.2-megawatt array. In 1954, Bell Labs invented the first useful photovoltaic device at the 200-acre campus.

ConEdison Development is the developer owner and operator of the array, with San Jose, CA-based SunPower Corp. serving as the designer and builder. Expected to be present at the ceremony were Alice White, Bell Labs chief scientist; J. Brooke Hern, mayor of New Providence, NJ; Robert Mennella, COO of ConEdison Development; and John Conley, project development director, SunPower Corp.

Unlike most solar farms, the new array utilizes trackers that will move with the sun during the day, ConEdison Development VP and COO Mark Noyes told GlobeSt.com in April. The trackers, according to the company will increase sunlight capture by 25% over fixed systems, while reducing land requirements. “You get more energy and solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs),” Noyes previously stated. “If land is expensive, you do that.”

Under a power purchase agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will buy energy from ConEdison Development for the next 15 years, while the developer leases the land for the array for the same period. Alcatel-Lucent spent no money on the installation, and can now purchase energy at below retail rates; according to previously published reports, the array should generate some $2.5 million in cost savings over the next 15 years. ConEdison Development also owns all SRECs for the installation.

Instant Insights /

Alcatel-Lucent Flips Switch On Murray Hill Farm

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