Kim Willingham, Senior Manager of Safety for Comcast’s Greater Boston Region plugs in an electric vehicle (EV) for charging at the newly completed solar carport installation in Plymouth, MA.
Comcast completed a 1,170-panel carport solar installation that will help power its regional call center at 35 Resnik Road in Plymouth, Mass.. The system will generate enough onsite clean energy – as much as 600,000 kilowatt hours of power annually, or the equivalent of 60 homes’ worth of electricity – to offset more than 95% of the facility’s annual energy consumption.
Comcast worked with Sunpower to install the parking lot-based solar array, also enabling the installation of two dual-port EV charging stations beneath the solar panel canopy, with the ability to charge four vehicles simultaneously. The system provides the added benefit of providing covered parking spots for employees during inclement and hot weather conditions. Local residents are also welcomed to use available EV car charging stations as well.
Leading up to the solar system installation, Comcast converted its Plymouth facility to LED lighting, as it has done at numerous New England sites. This holistic approach to energy management delivered increased efficiency and eliminated more than 200,000 kilowatt hours of power usage annually at Plymouth.
“Technology, innovation and talent are at the core of everything Comcast does, and generating clean energy on site at our Plymouth facility demonstrates our commitment to a culture of sustainability to promote a cleaner, healthier environment,” said Tracy Pitcher, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Greater Boston Region, which serves customers throughout eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
The Plymouth solar project is the latest in an ongoing series of sustainability efforts implemented in Comcast’s New England footprint. Just a few examples include upgrading to high-efficiency equipment and cooling systems in data centers and installation of LED lights and fixtures at dozens of its largest offices and call centers including Manchester and Hudson locations in New Hampshire as well as Massachusetts facilities in Chelmsford, Malden, and Plymouth. Also, five EV charging station sites have been installed across the area with more planned for 2019, and the company is expanding its use of single-stream recycling and kitchen waste com-posting.
“Our sustainability efforts also touch the products and experiences we offer our customers,” added Pitcher. “We have made it a priority to provide the most innovative ser-vices in the home and extend energy efficiency options as an added benefit.”
For example, the company’s X1 platform enables customers to say “Go Green” into their voice remotes, leading them to a settings menu that launches a power-saving mode to power down the TV box when not in use. This helps customers reduce their energy consumption and saves money on their utility bills.
— Solar Builder magazine
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