Energy Fund to allocate $1.48M to Pilgrim Furniture City for solar panels
Pilgrim featured on Sundance Channel’s “The Green” series
Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, May 13, 2008
MILFORD, Conn. - The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund will allocate about $1.48 million for a solar power system being built at Pilgrim Furniture City’s new showroom.
 Once constructed, the solar installation at Pilgrim Furniture City’s new store will generate 50% to 80% of the electricity used by the showroom. |
| Once constructed, the solar installation at Pilgrim Furniture City’s new store will generate 50% to 80% of the electricity used by the showroom. |
Installation of the solar panels will begin this week, a spokeswoman for the company said, and a CCEF spokeswoman added that the money will be allocated when the project is complete.
The CCEF was created by the Connecticut General Assembly and is administered by Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-public organization. The fund promotes the development and commercialization of clean energy technologies and comes from a surcharge on electric ratepayers’ utility bills.
Once finished, Pilgrim’s 342 kilowatt solar installation will consist of about 1,500 high efficiency panels that will generate 50% to 80% of the electricity used by the showroom—representing the largest array of solar panels in New England, a company press release said.
Soltage, a New Jersey City, N.J.-based renewable energy company that develops and operates solar energy stations, will finance the portion of the installation cost not covered by CCEF. Soltage will also work with Solar Energy Systems, a Brooklyn, N.Y., electrical design, structural analysis and installation firm, to install and service the solar power system.
When installed, the on-site Soltage PowerStation will prevent 289,306 pounds of carbon dioxide, 191 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 267 pounds of nitrous oxide from being released into the air annually during its lifetime, Soltage estimates.
They further estimate that it is equivalent to the electricity consumed by 36 households or of taking 24 vehicles off of the road each year.
Teaming up with Soltage allowed Pilgrim to save money on operating costs without having to pay up front, said Pilgrim President Mike Albert in the press release.
 Store officials at an Earth Day ribbon cutting for Pilgrim Furniture City’s new Milford, Conn., store. |
| Store officials at an Earth Day ribbon cutting for Pilgrim Furniture City’s new Milford, Conn., store. |
Pilgrim Furniture City’s new store held the ribbon cutting for its grand opening on April 22, Earth Day. Although the solar panels have not yet been installed, the company decided to hold a soft opening on the day nationally set aside to celebrate green efforts. The showroom presents a planned example of a sustainable approach to retail sales.
Architects, construction managers and engineers worked to adaptively re-use through retrofit construction an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility built in the 1950’s. It cost $5 million to renovate the building into the new store, store officials have said.
Ninety percent of the materials that were removed during the interior demolition were recycled, the company said. Drought resistant landscaping material was chosen with ability to reduce runoff. A highly efficient heating and cooling system was also installed.
Two large areas in the roof were opened to allow twelve-foot clerestory windows to illuminate the showroom, cutting down on lighting usage. The new store will feature a kiosk with information about solar power, including how much the store is collecting and how much carbon dioxide will be preventing from being released.
Furniture/Today reported that in 2007 Pilgrim did $25 million with its one 85,000-square-foot location in Southington. The new Milford store is projected to generate annual sales of $25 to $30 million. The Southington store is about 30 miles from the new site.
The new Pilgrim location is to be featured this month on The Sundance Channel’s weekly segment called “The Green,” an eco-themed program that showcases technology in action.
A film crew recently interviewed Albert on the roof of the Milford store to show the future home of the solar power panels.
 The industrial facility that would become Pilgrim Furniture City’s new showroom before its renovation. |
 Architects, construction managers and engineers worked to retrofit an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility built in the 1950’s. The building renovation cost $5 million. |
| The industrial facility that would become Pilgrim Furniture City’s new showroom before its renovation. | Architects, construction managers and engineers worked to retrofit an 80,000-square-foot industrial facility built in the 1950’s. The building renovation cost $5 million. |
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