Jul 15 2010
OFM, one of the nation’s leading office and school furniture manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers, announced today it has completed the first phase of its solar farm initiative. All of the brackets have been mounted on the roof of the company’s headquarters in Holly Springs, N.C. and the next phase will be installing the actual solar panels.
“Once the project is finished we’ll be completely carbon neutral and not a lot of companies can say that,” said Abel Zalcberg, co-founder and CEO of OFM. “This effort puts OFM one step closer to reaching many of our corporate social responsibility goals including becoming a greener company.”
In April of this year, OFM announced it was financing the installation of a 250-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system made up of 1,042 solar panels on the roof of its main building in North Carolina. The 322,500 kilowatts of energy generated each year through the solar farm system will be sold for 18 cents per kWh to Progress Energy, a Raleigh-based power company.
Zalcberg said the first phase of the project just completed where the mounting brackets were fitted on the roof and crews are working on the next phase, which will be installing the solar panels. Meanwhile, hired contractors and engineers are also working on interior wire installation that will enable OFM to collect the energy it produces. In addition, OFM is changing all of its interior warehouse lighting to be greener by using more efficient bulbs using less wattage.
OFM’s solar farm is part of Progress Energy’s SunSense Commercial Solar PV Program, a new initiative inspired by the North Carolina General Assembly, which mandates Progress Energy attain 12 percent of its power from renewable resources.
“We are right on track and anticipate the solar farm will be commissioned at the end of this month,” added Zalcberg. “We are already brainstorming other ways we can be even more green in our approach to not only benefit our bottom line, but the environment too.”
Source: http://www.ofminc.com/