EAST ORANGE—GeoGenix, a provider of residential and commercial solar installations in the mid-Atlantic region, has been awarded a contract by Rug Renovating, the world's largest rug and carpet cleaning, repair and restoration facility, to install a rooftop solar photovoltaic system at the company's corporate headquarters in East Orange.
The $1.4 million system, which is being designed, engineered and constructed by GeoGenix, will consist of 1,200 solar panels that will produce roughly 363,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. The amount is enough to offset 90 to 100 percent of the building's electricity load, realizing $3,500 to $4,000 in savings per month. The installation is set to be complete in March 2012.
Rug Renovating will own the solar system on its one-story, 55,000-sq.-ft corporate headquarters, which is used for cleaning, repairing and restoring handmade rugs and carpets, as well as distribution and warehousing.
Rug Renovating was able to purchase the PV system partly through New Jersey utility, Public Service Electric and Gas's solar loan program. The company was one of the last to take advantage of this program, which expired Dec. 30, 2011. The program provided loans covering 40 to 60 percent of the cost of PV systems with the remainder being financed by the customer. Rug Renovating can use its long-term contract for the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) to pay back the loan.
The power generated by the solar PV system equates to the reduction of more than 605,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year, which is the equivalent of offsetting the power demand of 36 homes for one year, planting 6,600 trees or removing 76 cars from the road every year.