Campbell Soup plans solar installation

CAMDEN – Campbell Soup Co. plans to power its world headquarters with help from the sun.

The Camden-based food company is pursuing a project that would put 8,000 to 9,000 solar panels atop its corporate offices and on neighboring properties, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The 4.4-megawatt solar field is expected to meet about 30 percent of annual energy needs at Campbell’s headquarters, Thomas Hushen said.

The project, approved by Camden’s zoning board July 6, is in the design stage with no completion date at this time, Hushen said.

The venture reflects an ongoing effort to cut Campbell’s environmental impact, he added.

“We are driving reductions in energy and water use as well as greenhouse gas emissions across the company, including our manufacturing and agricultural operations,” Hushen said.

Campbell also is seeking to obtain at least 40 percent of its power from renewable or alternative energy sources.

As part of that effort, a 1-megawatt solar installation has operated since December at a Pepperidge Farm bakery in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The company also has a 9.8-megawatt system at a production facility in Napoleon, Ohio.

All three systems are owned and operated by a New York-based firm, BNB Renewable Energy LLC. Campbell would agree to buy power from the Camden installation “at a rate that is lower than our current electric cost,” Hushen said.

He said the Camden system, on about 40 acres, will included ground- and roof-mounted panels, including some on carports in the company’s parking lots.

Jim Walsh; (856) 486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com