20 Jul 2012

Engaging photos: “3,700+ panels generating 1.2 megawatts…!”

By Denise Panyik-Dale, Murray Hill, NJ, USA.

Denise is Director, North America Media Relations and can most often be seen holding a camera.

Denise is Director, North America Media Relations and can most often be seen holding a camera.

I’m one of those people who is, shall we say, a little uncomfortable with heights.  To be exact, I tend to shy away from places when I might plunge multiple stories to my death.  So why was I standing on the roof of a four-story building one bright, sunny day in June 2011???

Well, I was there because it was the only way I could see all six acres of solar panels that were about to be switched “on” in front of Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs global headquarters in Murray Hill, NJ.
I’m an avid, albeit amateur, photographer, and the geometric patterns created by 3,728 solar panels called to me like a siren’s song.  (To be clear, I was never in any danger.  There is a sturdy rail around the roof’s perimeter and a person from the building staff was there to keep me well out of harm’s way.)
I was not disappointed by the view from above.  Thousands of glass panels sparkled in the sunlight, each row perfectly aligned with the next.  Pretty amazing sight.
But what’s even more interesting is that the 1.2 megawatt ground-mounted solar system powered up in June 2011 has a direct connection to Bell Labs began more than five decades before.  The underlying technology for this project was actually developed more than 50 years ago by Bell Labs at Murray Hill. Bell Labs scientists then were trying to find better ways to provide telephone service to farmers and others outside the reach of the country’s electrical grid.
Installed in conjunction with SunPower Corp and Con Edison Development, the systems generates 10 percent of the power needs for the Murray Hill facility, which houses more than 3,000 people.
So when the call went out for employees to submit photographs that could be selected for the 2011 Alcatel-Lucent Annual Review and the Corporate Responsibility Report, the photos of our front-yard solar farm came to mind as a great proof point in how seriously Alcatel-Lucent takes the threat of climate change and its willingness to combat it through modifications in its own operations.
I’m very honored that four of my photos were selected to help illustrate both the Annual Review and the Corporate Responsibility Report.
Photo © 2012 Denise Panyik-Dale, Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.

Photo © 2012 Denise Panyik-Dale, Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.

More about this initative

Earlier this year, Alcatel-Lucent employees were invited to participate in creating this year’s Annual Reviewand Corporate Responsibility Report through an open photography contest. Denise Panyik-Dale, Murray Hill, NJ, USA, was one of the winners.

 
 

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