The 1.7-megawatt system will cover eight rooftops and 11 acres of the campus. PPL will own and operate the system, purchasing renewable energy credits through its energy marketing affiliate, PPL EnergyPlus, and supplying energy to Schering-Plough. "The great thing about these projects is that they help companies offset their energy costs because the solar provides energy during peak times, when energy is most expensive," a PPL spokesperson explains to GlobeSt.com. Scheduled to be operational by the end of the year, the panels will supply approximately 12% of the company's peak energy needs.

PPL has pledged to invest at least $100 million in renewable energy projects and has already embarked on several of them with New Jersey towns and businesses. The company developed and operates the Pennsauken Renewable Energy Park in Pennsauken, which features both a solar and a biogas plant that converts methane from a landfill into fuel to generate electricity. PPL also installed solar panels on two Macy's stores in Jersey City and Mays Landing.

Schering-Plough, the pharmaceutical giant known for its allergy drug Claritin, among other things, has publicly committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 5% by 2012. According to PPL, the solar panel system will reduce Schering-Plough's emissions by about 1.3-million pounds a year.