To further enhance its robust sustainability program, East Coast Warehouse & Distribution, a leading temperature-controlled logistics provider to the food and beverage industry located on the Port of New York/New Jersey and in Philadelphia, has expanded its on-site clean renewable energy generation capabilities with the addition of 4,950 high-efficiency solar modules and top of the line inverters at its company headquarters. The solar modules are expected to have a first-year targeted output of 2,009,247 kWH of clean, renewable energy, which will create significant environmental benefits.
Over the first year, the projected energy savings will be equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 247 homes; 1,546,152 pounds of burned coal; 159,000 gallons of gasoline; 300 vehicles driven; and 180,340,927 smartphones charged.
“Environmental stewardship is embedded into our culture at East Coast Warehouse,” said CEO Jamie Overley. “Our sustainability initiative is continually growing and evolving to ensure we are consistently working to reduce our environmental footprint. We have been proud to call home one of the largest solar powered warehouses in the Northeast and are pleased to expand our efforts to create even more renewable energy and environmental benefits.”
The project successfully leveraged New Jersey Governor Murphy’s executed legislative measure, A-3723, which establishes and modifies clean energy and energy efficiency programs, providing incentives for conversion to solar, and The Port of New York and New Jersey’s extensive environmental programs.
“We’re focused on our mission of being good environmental stewards for the port and have committed in our Port Master Plan 2050 to goals aimed at driving down port-related impacts on the environment,” said Port Authority Port Director Sam Ruda. “We commend East Coast Warehouse for sharing our sustainability vision and taking the proactive step to install solar panels in its facility.”
The rooftop solar design, which includes 22 smart string inverters that convert the rooftop generated solar dc current into usable alternating current (AC), followed strict regulatory codes like the NJ Uniform Construction Code, Port Authority Tenant Construction Manual, National Electric Code, and International Fire & ASHRAE codes. The system was installed by Vanguard Energy Partners, LLC, a national solar energy construction firm since 2007.
“The team at East Coast Warehouse is very dedicated to creating solutions that benefit both their business and the environment,” said Alex Rivera, Senior Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners. “This was a successful installation that will result in extensive environmental benefits for years to come and we were happy to work with East Coast Warehouse on this project.”
In addition to solar panels, East Coast Warehouse utilizes state-of-the-art motion sensing technology to provide the most advanced and reliable energy-saving controls across its facilities. As a result of its overarching sustainability efforts, the company saves 1.5 million kilowatt hours, and keeps 3.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide, more than 29,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and nearly 13,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide out of the atmosphere on an annual basis. Its recycling program recycles nearly 2.3 million pounds of cardboard and 288,000 pounds of plastic stretch wrap each year. Finally, East Coast Warehouse continues to move toward a paperless environment, with more than 90 percent of warehouse transactions now processed via radio frequency (RF) and electronic data interchange (EDI) technologies. The goal is to achieve 100 percent digital processing of both inbound and outbound operations by the end of 2019.
