With the flip of a switch on September 23, the largest solar panel array in New Jersey came to life on the Titusville campus of Janssen, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The project is also the largest solar installation of any site among the Johnson & Johnson family of companies around the world.
The 4.1 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic array of 13,496 ground-mounted panels tracks the sun from east to west. It is estimated to generate enough energy to provide 70 percent of the Titusville site’s annual electricity needs, or roughly the amount needed to power 600 homes annually. Ground broke in April on the solar array at the site, which is home to several Johnson & Johnson company operations. The Titusville site houses Janssen, McNeil Pediatrics, and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals (divisions of Ortho-McNeil Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc), Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C., Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, L.L.C., and Global Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. All are members of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. Approximately 1,500 people work at the 242-acre (98-hectare) site.
“Our contributions here in Titusville are part of a larger shared commitment to renewable energy with colleagues at other sites in the Johnson & Johnson family of companies,” said Joaquin Duato, Company Group Chairman, Pharmaceuticals—The Americas.
“Our employees are eager to continue this legacy in Titusville, where we installed our first solar panels in 2004. We’re proud to be doing the right thing for the environment where we work and where we live.”
In addition to the Titusville site, Johnson & Johnson has solar power systems planned or completed at 20 sites worldwide, which together represent an installed capacity of about 13 megawatts.
“Johnson & Johnson has a comprehensive energy management strategy that includes the ongoing implementation of both demand- and supply-side energy projects around the globe,” says Jed Richardson, site manager, J&J — Workplace and Site Operations.
“The Titusville site was the ideal location for a ground-mounted solar array,” says Richardson. “We had the available acreage, and this site has a history of leadership within our company for energy efficiency and environmental excellence. We installed our first solar array in 2004, and we were the first Johnson & Johnson facility in New Jersey to receive a LEED certification.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partnership lists the company as the nation’s sixth-largest purchaser of renewable energy. Johnson & Johnson also has received six Green Power Leadership Awards from the EPA and Department of Energy since 2002.