EDISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avidan Management, one of the Northeast’s foremost owners and managers of industrial and commercial real estate, joined with regional officials today to announce completion of the nation’s largest roof-mounted solar panel system. The 4.26-megawatt system, employing 17,745 high-performance SolarWorld solar panels, will generate clean, renewable energy for tenants located at a company-owned distribution facility in Edison.
The project not only places Avidan Management at the forefront of a new, clean-energy economy in the United States, but also establishes the firm as a leader in the industrial real estate industry that will show how savings from renewable energy can attract and retain high-value commercial tenants. The installation also marks yet another solar-industry record involving SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer for more than 35 years.
The solar electric system atop the 17-acre roof of the 656,255-square-foot facility will produce more than 5 million kilowatt hours of power a year, enough to supply about half of the power needs of the building’s multiple tenants, which use the facility for office space and storage of dry goods and refrigerated and frozen foods. The system is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 3,750 tons annually and, over the system’s lifetime, would be equivalent to planting 3.5 million trees. Solar company Solar Nation designed and installed the system.
“At Avidan, we take great pride in promoting environmentally conscious business practices that not only create healthier, more sustainable work environments, but that also make sound business sense,” said Avi Avidan, Managing Member of Avidan Management, before the dedication ceremony. “In addition to the substantial environmental benefits this system affords, we are now able to provide our tenants with clean energy that costs 30 percent less than conventional energy sources.”
“This significant project would not have been possible were it not for the support of our public officials, as well as our great partners at Solar Nation and SolarWorld. On behalf of the entire team at Avidan Management, we would like to thank you for creating the climate where a business like ours can undertake such a large-scale renewable energy project,” Avidan added.
Kevin Kilkelly, President of SolarWorld Americas, also attended to pay tribute to the Avidan family’s renewable-energy and industry leadership. “By recognizing and seizing the financial gains that solar power can bring to industry, bold business decision-makers like Avi Avidan will lead this country into a stronger, cleaner, more secure energy future,” Kilkelly said before the event. “We at SolarWorld stand up and applaud his family business for setting a new American milestone.”
Avidan Management also has undertaken a comprehensive retrofit of the building’s lighting to upgrade the system to energy-efficient standards and has improved the building’s insulation to maximize the facility’s overall energy efficiency.
For more on the event later today, go to SolarWorld’s blog here.
About SolarWorld: The SolarWorld group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems of all sizes, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro, Ore. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 3,300 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX and ÖkoDAX as well as in the sustainability index NAI.
About Avidan Management: Avidan Management, based in Elizabeth, N.J., is a family-owned and operated real estate company with deep roots in northern New Jersey. Throughout its 40-year history, the company has built a strong track as a premier owner and manager of best-in-class, strategically located industrial and commercial properties, including warehouse and distribution facilities that service the major population centers in the Northeast. The company’s portfolio is comprised of 10 facilities with a combined 3 million square feet of space.
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