Cortlandt Business Adds Solar Panels; Employees Benefit

CORTLANDT MANOR, NY — A family owned Cortlandt Manor business has found a way to help the environment and save their employees a little on their electric bill.

Mines Press, a local print press company, has been in business for 88 years.

The company will participate as a commercial purchaser under the Community Solar program. It will by 40 percent of the credits, with the balance of surplus energy being used by households — including many of the company's own employees within the Con Edison utility territory.

Those employees will receive credits on their monthly bills.

According to a spokesperson, the effort is part of a 25-year agreement where Centrica Business Solutions will install 1.3 MWs of solar on the roof of the 108,000-square-foot facility as part of a Community Solar project.

The electricity from the panels will also power on-site batteries which will then provide clean, renewable energy during high peak demand times.

Centrica also replaced all the interior and exterior lighting fixtures of the building with new energy-efficient LEDs. They will reduce electricity consumption in the factory by about 24 percent, creating significant and permanent savings to the business.

It's estimated the combined project will offset 1,362 tons of carbon dioxide every year, which is equivalent to 1.4 million pounds of coal not being burned every year.