Nov 29 2005
Franklin-Nestled on three acres of farmland in Franklin Township is one of the Dome-Tech Group’s proudest—and most visible—projects.
There, on the grounds of the New Jersey American Water plant, about 2,800 solar panels soak up the sun’s rays, ensuring the Lawrenceville-based water supplier a stable energy source to help light, heat and cool the plant for the next three decades.
It’s projects like this that have earned the Dome-Tech Group the first-ever Clean Energy Market Innovator Award from the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy, a branch of the state Board of Public Utilities.
The presentation came in September. Based in Edison, the Dome-Tech Group works with large companies and school systems to cut energy bills, says Dome-Tech president Bruce Curtis, 41. The company specializes in solar energy and has designed solar fields at Johnson & Johnson’s Somerville location, as well as Merck’s headquarters in White House Station. Curtis says Dome-Tech revenues have jumped 30% over the past year and will reach $15 million in 2005. He looks for at least a 30% increase again next year. The company, which employs some 50 people, has been adding two employees a month to keep up with the growing demand for its services.
“In the last 18 months, our business has changed and grown more than in the last 16 years,” Curtis says.
The reason is that projects like solar panel fields, once dismissed as too costly and impractical, are becoming a real cost-saving option for businesses.
Curtis says. “If you build a system like American Water did, you’ve basically locked in your [energy costs] for the next 30 years”.
Also boosting Dome-Tech’s business are state and federal rebates and tax incentives for companies that install solar arrays. In support of Dome-Tech’s bid for the clean-energy award, Dennis Canavan, executive director of Johnson & Johnson’s Energy Market, called the Franklin company “a committed partner for over 12 years” in helping J&J reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases. Dome-Tech records show that solar panels have saved the big pharmaceutical company more than $400,000 between January 2003 and December 2005. Dome-Tech has also installed a 2,000-cu.-ft. fuel cell that provides heat and electricity for J&J’s New Brunswick headquarters. Dome-Tech supervises the construction of new buildings for energy efficiency and recommends ways to slash energy bills in older buildings. Clients include a Nabisco bakery in Fairlawn and a Nestlé plant that makes Taster’s Choice freeze-dried coffee in Freehold.
“The more money they spend [on energy], the more value we can add,” Curtis says. Curtis launched Dome-Tech in 1989 with longtime friend Charles Braunstein after graduating from the State University of New York Maritime School in the Bronx. Curtis had hoped to become an engineer on merchant marine ships, but such jobs were scarce when he graduated so he took a position as performance engineer with New York City’s Consolidated Edison. It was there that Curtis got the idea for Dome- Tech. That happened when Curtis and Braunstein were looking to improve the efficiency of Con Ed’s steam and electricity generating plant on 14th street in Manhattan. Curtis says the pair soon had the plant using less energy.
“I said, ‘We can do this,’” Curtis recalls. He and Braunstein, 43, started Dome-Tech as a part-time business and found work in New York hospitals such as Mount Sinai and Montefiore Medical Center, where they fine-tuned the heating and steam-generating facilities. After building up their roster of clients, Braunstein and Curtis quit their day jobs to focus on Dome-Tech. Mike Wolan, senior project manager for New Jersey American Water, says the utility gets 15% of its peak energy supply from the solar field. Wolan says Dome-Tech has saved American Water some $2.5 million in the last few years by enabling plant equipment to run efficiently.
“We’ve been very happy with them,” he says.
While the American Water solar project cost $3.2 million, Curtis says state and federal incentives cut the project’s cost to about $1.4 million. And with fuel costs drastically higher than a year ago, Curtis says the company will recoup its expenses in three years.