Group celebrates solar panel installation

WILMINGTON – At BrightFields Inc., seven gardens outside the office have produced 300 pounds of vegetables, and on the roof, 175 solar energy panels have saved the company money on its electric bill.

The solar panels, which have generated about 7,000 kilowatt hours since they were turned on in August, are part of an intentional effort by the company to find ways to be more energy efficient. The environmental services businesses is located in the city on Industrial Drive at a brownfield site that was rehabilitated after a previous life as a landfill.

“We practice what we preach by building on this former landfill,” said Don Short, chief financial officer of Brightfields.

The addition of the solar panels at the site was celebrated Friday by state and local officials. Brightfields Inc. is a member of the Energy & Sustainability Roundtable, which is a group of business and nonprofit leaders who meet with energy officials to collaborate on ways to be more efficient.

The program started in 2012 under Mayor Jim Baker, but it’s not limited to just city-based organizations. Members of the group meet periodically to listen to presentations, which have included topics such as electronic recycling and energy-efficient buildings. They also chat after those sessions.

“It’s the conversations in the hallways after that really make the difference,” said Andrea Kreiner, of A. Kreiner Co., a sustainability firm based in Dover.

Other environmentally conscious efforts by members of the Energy & Sustainability Roundtable include the AstraZeneca campus north of Wilmington, the Barclaycard US building on South West Street and the Community Services Building in downtown Wilmington.

Energy conservation at the Community Services Building and a nearby parking garage have helped save money, said Jerry A. Builton, executive director of the Community Services Building, home to 77 nonprofits. For instance, changing light bulbs in the garage helped cut costs in half and by a third in the office building.

The addition of solar panels to Brightfields was an idea the company first explored several years earlier, but they did not pursue it because the recession forced them to rethink the expense.

The idea to pursue it again was sparked recently, and they finished the installation this year. Besides being environmentally friendly and in line with the business mission, it is also a way to save money, officials said.

In addition to the gardens and solar panels, the company found ways to recycle what it was throwing in the trash. They intend to build on what they are doing by composting food scraps and shredded office paper to make soil for community gardens.

It is good for the environment, the bottom line and the community, officials said.

“Your work is really changing lives ... It’s making it a better place to live,” Wilmington City Council member Darius Brown said.

The solar panel market is a “fledgling” industry, but Delaware has made strides, said state Sen. Harris McDowell. He said the state now ranks among the top for use of solar energy.

“Not so long ago Delaware was 36th in the nation,” McDowell said.

Contact Nichole Dobo at (302) 324-2281 or ndobo@delawareonline.com. On Twitter @NicholeDobo.