A new 67,000-square-foot F.W. Webb facility is Springfield, Mass. is being constructed with a rooftop photovoltaic solar energy system.

JM Coull Inc., the building contractor, is installing a commercial solar energy system, designed to convert sunlight directly into clean, renewable, cost-stable electricity. JM Coull has combined solar energy with geothermal technology on earlier F.W. Webb projects, but this is the first that will use solar energy to generate a substantial portion of the building’s electricity.

The 302kW system will offset more than 430,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually, with first-year electrical savings of $38,076. To engineer the system, JM Coull enlisted the help of its solar energy partner, Bella Energy, a national commercial solar developer and project engineering firm.