The 80,000-square-foot facility opened in 2004 with a commitment to sustainable building designs like recycling wastewater for use in the building's cooling towers and the Zamboni, an ice cleaning device. In 2007, with funding assistance of $1.2 million from the state's Office of Clean Energy's clean energy program, Carragino installed 2,000 solar panels on the 30,000-square-foot roof. Power inverters inside the building convert DC power into AC, a form accepted by standard electrical appliances.

Other installations included high efficiency chillers, green lighting and motion sensors, reflective insulation and a grey water collection and reclamation system. Altogether, these green initiatives have reduced Aspen Ice's electric consumption by 60% and green house gas emissions by 75%. In addition, nearly 1.7 million gallons of water have been recycled.

"The project at Aspen Ice reflects the ideal in green initiatives for businesses throughout the state," BPU President Jeanne M. Fox says in a statement. "These innovations are precisely the kind of forward-thinking we need in order to achieve Governor Corzine's Energy Master Plan goals and transform New Jersey's energy future.: