NFI leverages warehouses for solar power

NFI leverages warehouses for solar power By Eric Kulisch

   NFI, a large family-owned integrated logistics company based in Cherry Hill, N.J., earlier this year created a solar power division to leverage the rooftop space of its warehouses for internal energy savings and as a new line of business helping other companies install solar energy systems on commercial properties.
   NFI Solar, as the new group is called, completed a 1.3-megawatt solar system on the company's corporate headquarters, with more than 6,000 panels on the 290,000-square-foot warehouse. It will produce about 1.4 million kilowatt hours per year, equivalent to the amount of power required to operate 200 homes. The company said it expects to cut the facility's annual energy costs, which often reach above six figures, by up to 25 percent, or $375,000 over a 15-year period.
   The solar installation required the design of a unique table-like structure to evenly distribute the weight of the panels on columns to protect the roof, NFI said.
   The $900 million third-party logistics provider plans to have four of its 10 warehouses in New Jersey powered by solar energy by the end of 2010 or early 2011, Chief Executive Officer Sidney Brown said June 22 at the eyefortransport 3PL Summit in Atlanta. The installation process will expand to other states in the future.
   The third-generation company, which started out operating dump trucks, has more than 18 million square feet of warehouse space under management nationwide, about 4.5 million square feet of it in the Garden State.
   NFI Solar was launched in collaboration with Solare Development Group, a New Jersey corporation which manages the construction of solar installations.

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   It eventually plans to use its expertise to help other industrial property owners convert to solar energy by financing, owning and managing the solar systems for a period of 10 to 15 years. Brown said the company will sell the electricity back to the owner or tenant of a commercial property at a discounted rate under a long-term lease arrangement. The deal means no upfront costs for customers and enables them to purchase electricity at a set price.
   The company has active plans to develop 10 to 12 more solar projects in New Jersey, but the company won't identify whether they are on NFI property or elsewhere, according to an outside representative for the company.
   NFI's foray into solar energy was encouraged by New Jersey's robust rebate and incentive program, as well as federal assistance.
   The federal government is offering a 30 percent cash reimbursement grant for commercial installations through the end of the year, which will convert to a tax credit in 2011. Under the New Jersey program, owners of solar generating facilities can sell credits at auction to utilities to help them meet renewable energy standards and deadlines.
   NFI said the credits could provide as much as a 50 percent return on the Cherry Hill headquarters project.
   The New Jersey solar incentive program is also proving advantageous for lunchmeat processor Dietz & Watson, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. With help from the grant and the credits, a 1.7-megawatt rooftop installation underway at its distribution center in Delanco will be paid for in eight years instead of 32, Chief Operating Officer Chris Eni told the paper.
   Many real estate developers and distribution center owners are retrofitting their facilities to generate solar power. ProLogis, one of the world's largest developers of distribution facilities, formed a Renewable Energy group last year to procure new business, manage installations and provide development services for energy projects. It has more than 450 million square feet of roof space available for photovoltaic installations and, in partnership with a solar specialty company, has also designed a new solar panel racking system for large rooftop installations.
   In 2008, ProLogis entered agreements with Southern California Edison and Portland General Electric in Oregon to lease hundreds of thousands of square feet of roof space on several buildings.
   In April, Constellation Energy announced plans to develop a 1.8-megawatt solar voltaic system on McCormick & Co.'s distribution center in Belcamp, Md. The utility already sells the spice maker energy generated from 1-megawatt system on its mill in Hunt Valley, Md.
   FedEx and SEKO Worldwide are among a growing number of logistics providers retrofitting distribution centers with solar systems.
   The solar initiative is the latest sustainable practice incorporated by NFI. Miles per gallon have increased 3.5 percent during each of the past two years, and saved the company millions of dollars, since General Counsel Robert Barron was given the additional responsibility of 'fuel czar' to improve the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet, Brown said.
   The improvements are the result of reductions in truck idling time, lowering maximum speed limits for drivers, reducing horsepower, installing battery-powered auxiliary power units to power equipment at rest, improved truck aerodynamics, weight reductions through truck and trailer design, and training drivers to drive more conservatively.
   The company has installed florescent lighting and motion detectors in two-thirds of its buildings, uses synthetic oil in all trucks, and recycles all waste fluids, metals, electronics, batteries, metals and tires.
   A policy requiring double-sided printing saves up to $50,000 per year, Brown added. ' Eric Kulisch