Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. on Tuesday dedicated a solar power installation on the roof of a new engineering building at its Stratford campus.
The 450 roof-mounted solar modules will generate 106,250 kilowatt hours each year for the helicopter designer and manufacturer. The installation was paid for and installed by New Jersey-based Soltage, LLC, which will sell the generated electricity to Sikorsky at a fixed rate.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund supplied a $253,515 grant for the solar project. The clean energy generated by the installation equates to removing 72,675 lbs. of carbon dioxide from the air, 53 lbs. of nitrogen oxide and 31 lbs of sulfur dioxide each year.
“This was an easy decision for us because the environmental and financial benefits are so compelling,” said Sikorsky President Jeffrey P. Pino in a statement. “For the same reasons, we are constructing a co-generation plant on-site that will power our facility here while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These projects demonstrate how environmental responsibility and sound business management go hand in hand.”
This is Sikorsky’s first solar installation. The company also has reduced energy consumption in its factories and used energy-saving processes in its manufacturing.
Sikorsky, headquartered in Stratford, is a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp.
