Earlier this year, Acme Wire Product invested in a solar panel roof to reduce its carbon footprint and be a responsible community member. The company, the lone manufacturer of custom-welded wire assemblies in Connecticut, also got to showcase the roof at a September plant tour for the Wire Fabricators Association (WFA).
Per Michael Planeta, vice president of operations for Acme Wire Products, said that the time was right for the company to make the investment. “One of our goals as a company is to be a responsible member of the community either locally or globally. An investment in a solar array had been on our radar. We had received proposals from a number of integrators over the years, and the financial payback was too long of a hurdle. With the improvements in the performance of solar panels over the years and the price of the panels and installation having come down it finally made sense from a financial standpoint.”
The roof of the Mystic company has 672 panels that have an annual capacity of £266,000 kWh which is enough to meet 90% of the company’s electricity usage, Planeta said. The company did not get any state or federal funding, but utility incentives enabled the project to be financially feasible.
The company got to display its roof at a tour by members of WFA as part of their fall conference. The visit included a presentation on the solar panels by Dynamic Energy. Planeta, a past WFA president, said that it is both a good investment as well as a responsible action. The project is estimated to have a five-year payback, “and so far, the financial model are proving accurate,” he said.
Added Acme Wire President Mary Fitzgerald “As our company continues to grow and energy costs continue to climb, the solar panels will allow us to become more energy efficient and to meet our sustainability goals.”
