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Solar Power Illuminates EBSCO Publishing’s Green Side
EP Makes a Commitment to Solar Power and Receives Accolades for its Corporate Responsibility

EBSCO Publishing (EP) has actively sought environmentally friendly alternatives for almost two years, and the latest “green initiative” is the largest so far. A photovoltaic array of solar panels has been installed on the roof of one of EP’s historic mill buildings. The solar panels are one of many green initiatives instituted to decrease the company’s impact on the environment.

The 192 solar panels, mounted on the roof of the building that houses the Editorial Operation Department, feed power directly into the building, offsetting the amount of “brown power” bought from the grid. When the sun shines, the system supplies enough electricity to power about 50 average homes. The system will generate approximately 41,300 kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, the equivalent of 37,170 lbs of CO2 emissions, the leading cause of global warming, per year. The solar panels are expected to offset 25 percent of the building’s energy needs.

Photovoltaic systems are engineered to convert the sun’s energy into electricity. Solar modules absorb photons from the sun. When the modules are connected in a circuit, direct current (DC) electricity flows, much like batteries in a flashlight. An inverter turns the DC current into the AC current used by the building. The inverter is connected into the building’s main power panel. When the sun shines, electricity back-feeds the meter, offsetting the amount of electricity drawn from the grid. If the solar array is making more power than the building uses, the meter actually spins backward.

The solar project was a team effort headed by the Green Team, a group of employees that work to find ways EP can reduce its impact on the environment. Massachusetts companies were used during the entire project from the original site mapping, to the solar panel and inverter box construction, right down to the turnkey installation. Having local companies involved was an excellent way to promote alternative energy solutions and serve as a backdrop to support local businesses that are helping other companies become more environmentally responsible.

The solar panels were introduced to the community at an event called, “Unveiling Renewable Energies at EP,” which included state and local officials including Philip Giudice, commissioner for the State Division on Energy Resources, and U.S. Congressman John Tierney. Tierney co-authored the Green Jobs Act of 2007 that authorized $125 million to help the United States develop a specialized green collar work force.

The event was well-received by the local community. An editorial in the Salem News on Aug. 24 wrote, “Town officials, too, have shown themselves receptive to the concept of going green in recent years, and Ipswich Selectman Jim Engel was on hand Tuesday to herald the EBSCO project as ‘one of the most successful and unheralded public-private partnerships’ the town has seen.” The newspaper went on to write, “Certainly it was another positive step in building what many hope will become a burgeoning market in renewable energy technology not only in Ipswich, but throughout the region.”

The solar panel project received statewide attention when Boston’s ABC affiliate WCVB-TV came to interview Tim Collins and film around the EP campus for a Sept. 4 story.

Tim Collins reiterated the editorial’s focus during the television interview saying that even though New England does not have rich natural resources such as oil, “We do have an opportunity to be a leader in alternative energy.” The television reporter, David Brown, issued a somber message highlighting the importance of EP’s decision to adopt a model that is more about corporate responsibility that profitability saying EP was, “using alternative energy before there is no alternative.”

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