Vaca business unveils solar array

Vaca business unveils solar array
By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | October 28, 2009

VACAVILLE - Novartis' Vacaville facility joined the club of local solar-friendly companies when it unveiled its one-megawatt solar array Wednesday afternoon.

'This sets an example for the rest of the community,' Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine told a gathering that included students from Browns Valley Elementary School.

The solar array located next to Cessna Drive is expected to supply 20 percent of the facility's overall electrical energy needs, Novartis President Robert Pelzer said.

The array covers 5 acres and consists of 4,100 solar panels that will produce one megawatt of power.

This is one of six sites where the international pharmeceutical firm has installed solar arrays, but the Vacaville location will produce triple the energy of all other site sites combined.

Novartis is also involved in other energy-saving measures that include using geo-thermal and bio-gas energy, as well as a campaign to switch the company's 6,600 cars to hybrids, spokesman Joseph Culley said.

Blustery winds kept the fourth-grade students from teacher Dave Northrup's class from touring the array Thursday, but Northrup stated they will get another chance.

'This is still a great hands-on experience for them,' Northrup said.

Novartis joins a growing number of Vacaville businesses who are using solar arrays that include ALZA Corp., the State Compensation Insurance Fund and the Mariani Packing Co.

See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.