Food manufacturer Mars Inc. has unveiled an 18-acre solar array at its M&M candy factory in Hackettstown, New Jersey, that is expected to generate up to two megawatts of electricity, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The company expects the solar panels to provide approximately one-fifth of the candy factory's energy needs; company officials say that the savings in fossil fuel is the equivalent of removing 190 vehicles from the road. The Star-Ledger reports that Mars would not reveal the cost of the project, but a spokesperson for PSEG Solar Source, a subsidiary of electric utility PSE&G, says a typical two-megawatt system costs between $10 million and $15 million. PSEG Solar Source owns the system and will be reimbursed through a 30 percent federal tax credit, the sale of electricity to Mars, and the sale of renewable energy credits to other power-generation companies.
