MassMutual Acquires Solar Rooftop

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) has declared the culmination of a solar construction project costing around $2.4 million at its head office in Springfield Mass.

The solar system that includes 96 thermal solar panels and 528 photovoltaic panels is installed over a 40,000 square foot roof area of the insurance company’s 9.6 acres main campus. The 96 solar thermal panels will meet nearly 50% of the hot water requirement of the campus while the 528 PV systems will generate 111 kWh of electric power that is sufficient to provide power to 22 average homes in Massachusetts every year. During the anticipated life time of 20 years the panels will offset 1,830 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The project includes a number of latest technologies such as white roof to decrease the roof temperature and to cut down the expenses on internal air conditioning while improving the functioning efficiency of the installed solar panels. During the installation of the solar system the company donated nearly 2,000 foam insulation boards removed from its roof to a not- for- profit home improvement centre and reused nearly 250 tons of stone ballast removed from its roof for drainage and landscaping use in its main campus area.

Roger Crandall, MassMutual’s President and CEO, said that by incorporating around 600 solar panels over the roof of its headquarters, the company has adopted a eco friendly working that reduces the generation of carbon dioxide emissions while providing renewable energy power source that protects the environ.