Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) participated in a ribbon-cutting or a new solar power installation at Ingersoll Rand’s Trane Residential HVAC plant in Trenton that will help promote energy efficiency and sustainability in the area.
“By investing in solar energy to power a portion of Trane’s operations—with the goal of reducing its operation’s greenhouse footprint by 35 percent by 2020—Ingersoll Rand not only ensures cleaner air for the great people who work here and for the people of Hamilton, Trenton and the region, but provides extraordinary corporate leadership in the ever-present challenge of sustainable environmental protection,” Smith said.
The Trane Residential HVAC plant is the fifth largest manufacturer in Mercer County, employing more than 1,100 people. The solar array at the plant, which included 5,500 photovoltiac canopy and rooftop panels, is planned to generate 1.9 megawatts of electricity to meet the facility’s energy needs, and will be one of the largest photovoltaic systems in New Jersey.
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The company expects to recoup the cost of construction over a four to five-year period. Smith spoke to nearly 1,200 employees and guests, and later toured the 449,000 square foot manufacturing facility. Smith said the company plans to conduct upgrades over the next two years to modernize the plant, located on East State Street in the township.
The project is part of Ingersoll Rand’s Climate Commitment of 2014 to increase its energy efficiency and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions related to its operations and products, including a 35 percent reduction in the greenhouse gas footprint of its own operations by 2020. The company had solar installations built at three large manufacturing sites in the U.S. and China, including the Hamilton facility, to provide energy at those locations.
“Companies like Ingersoll Rand are showing that profitability and energy conservancy can go hand-in-hand,” Smith said. “I look forward to their continued leadership—and that of other area employers which are embarking on similar projects—in this issue, which is only becoming more important by the day.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Smith joined Erik Schiemann, CEO of GE Solar, Hamilton Plant Manager Cyndi Bray-McDaniel and Mike Lamach, Chairman and CEO of Ingersoll Rand, company officials.
In Congress, Rep. Smith has been a consistent cosponsor of clean energy legislation; he recently cosponsored the BEST Act of 2018 to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish new energy storage goals at the Department of Energy, and also cosponsored the Carbon Capture Improvement Act of 2017 to incentivize and help finance the implementation of carbon capture technology and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Smith earlier supported legislation that encourages the development of solar energy on commercial and residential properties.
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