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November 3, 2009
Vacaville,
CA, USA: Novartis Champions Renewable Energy with New Vacaville
Solar Array
Novartis
has completed a 1 megawatt solar array near its Vacaville biopharmaceutical
site. The announcement was made at a ceremony last week which
celebrated the collective effort of state and local officials,
employees and business partners in championing the approval, construction
and completion of the $7 million dollar power plant. The five
acre array will supply 20% of the manufacturing facility’s electrical
needs.
From
left to right: Rob Carter, Novartis Vacaville Site Head,
CEO of Novartis Corporation, Robert Pelzer, and Vacaville
Mayor Len Augustine |
As
the Group’s single largest solar energy investment, the Vacaville
array more than triples the total solar power generation by Novartis
facilities worldwide.
In
recognizing this, Robert Pelzer, CEO of Novartis Corporation,
said, “This dedication signals our continued commitment to the
environment and to initiatives like the Kyoto Protocol, the US
EPA Climate Leaders Program and our own US Energy program.”
“Novartis
has demonstrated outstanding leadership and teamwork as an active
and enthusiastic community partner”, shared City of Vacaville,
Mayor Len Augustine, “and together we are once again demonstrating
that industry and government working together on common goals
can be an effective force in promoting renewable energy and environmental
responsibility.”
Made
up of over 4,100 photovoltaic panels, the Novartis system eliminates
the production of over 1,400 metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.
The
Vacaville power plant joins five other Novartis solar sites, and
numerous other renewal energy operations, around the world in
supporting the Group’s goal of reducing, by 2012, its greenhouse
gas emissions to 5% below its 1990 level.
Initiated
in 2006 by employees at the Vacaville site, and introduced as
part of a corporate Energy Excellence Award program, the project
benefits from Vacaville’s ideal location for solar power generation,
having 25% more sunny days than the average American city.
A
first phase of the project, a 30 kW parking canopy, was completed
in December 2008, with the larger 970 kW array becoming operational
in mid-September of this year, a full month ahead of schedule.
Joining
Robert Pelzer, Mayor Augustine, and Rob Carter, Vacaville Site
Head, in the ribbon cutting ceremony were Novartis employees and
4th grade students from Browns Valley Elementary School in Vacaville,
who participated in educational activities. As “Solar Champions”
for the day, the students were the first to take part in a planned
local program by Novartis to educate local youth on the benefits
of renewable energy.
Further details about: Novartis
Corporation
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