Solis Partners, a leading developer and integrator of commercial solar power systems, and PVH Corp. (PVH), one of the nation's largest apparel companies, recently celebrated the completion of a 154 kW rooftop solar installation at one of the corporation's main administrative offices in Bridgewater, N.J.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place on the rooftop of the building at 1001 Frontier Road, was attended by more than 30 people, including PVH executives, local elected officials and dignitaries, representatives of the solar panel supplier and representatives of Solis Partners, the Manasquan, N.J.-based solar developer responsible for designing, engineering and constructing the PVH system.

"As a worldwide leader in its industry, PVH has yet again set a higher standard in the apparel business by incorporating an environmentally responsible practice into their business activities," said Jamie Hahn, managing director of Solis Partners.

"PVH's commitment to this solar power project is an important testament to their initiatives and strategies to protecting the environment and reducing their carbon footprint."

The installation of PVH's rooftop solar system is another example of the many ways in which PVH exercises its corporate social responsibility in the communities where we do business, said Michael A. Shaffer, chief financial officer and executive vice president for PVH.

"This rooftop solar system is beneficial for both PVH and the State of New Jersey," said Shaffer. "It gives our business a competitive edge by allowing us to save on operational expenses, while also contributing to the improvement of the environment. The system is reducing more than 240,000 pounds of CO2 emissions annually, which is the equivalent of removing 20 cars from the road."

The rooftop solar PV system consists of 890 Solyndra panels, which will produce over 178,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Although the Solyndra panels are manufactured in California, the tubular glass upon which the photovoltaic thin film material is mounted is manufactured in Millville, N.J., a fact that was noted by several of the speakers.

Among the many elected officials and dignitaries who attended the event were Jeanne M. Fox, commissioner of the N.J Board of Public Utilities; Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivakula of New Jersey's 17th Legislative District; Carolyn Fefferman, senior advisor to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez; Patricia Flannery, mayor of Bridgewater; Michael V. Kerwin, president and CEO of the Somerset County Business Partnership; and Patrick Scaglione, Somerset County Freeholder.

The speakers all commented on New Jersey's emergence as a national solar leader. Thanks to generous state incentives, New Jersey now ranks second in the nation after California in solar capacity, and first if considered on a per-capita or per-square-mile basis. New Jersey's role as a solar leader is important to business, including green job creation, as well as to the nation's energy security, they noted.

"Renewable energy is so important because it is strongly tied to our national security," said Chivukula.

"The journey toward energy independence is an important goal for our nation in light of recent world events. The catalyst to the growth we are experiencing in solar has been New Jersey's incentives for solar energy. Solar energy is in abundance, and the incentives have allowed us to really harness that."

The rooftop solar PV system was integrated with a reflective white "cool" roof, which was also on view at the rooftop ribbon cutting. The reflective roof not only enhances the efficiency of the building envelope from an energy conservation perspective, saving on air conditioning expenses during the summer months, but also increases the amount of solar production harvest.

The on-site solar electric generation will serve as a hedge against electricity rate increases and allow Phillips-Van Heusen to lower the energy portion of its operating budget, Hahn said. The system is expected to pay for itself in less than seven years, and continue to yield strong returns over the 25-year life of the system.

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