FedEx begins work on major airport solar project in Newark

NJBiz

The FedEx Express arm of FedEx Corp. today broke ground on its largest solar panel project to date, which will be mounted on the rooftops of its three distribution facilities at Newark Liberty International Airport.

“Unlike big-box retailers, where you typically see solar arrays, this is a working airport with cargo and people coming through it 24 hours a day — so an array like this is really helping to power commerce,” said Mitch Jackson, vice president of environmental affairs and sustainability for FedEx. “It’s much more than lighting a facility. It’s about moving boxes.”

Set to be complete in February, the solar installation project will put 120 people to work covering 3.5 acres of rooftops with nearly 9,000 solar modules. The system will generate approximately 2.4 million kilowatt hours to provide more than 15 percent of the FedEx Express hub’s energy needs.