M & M's going green

by: Jason Springer

Fri Nov 28, 2008 at 03:32:22 PM EST

Every fifth M& M candy that comes out of the Mars Snackfood US factory in Hackettstown will soon be made with solar energy.

That was the way Tom Marshall, a member of the town zoning board of adjustment, broke down the fact that 20 percent of the factory's power needs could be drawn from a "solar garden..."

Mars Snackfood plans to use 29,000 panels on 14 acres at its Hackettstown facility to generate 2 megawatts of electricity. As pitched to the zoning board, construction is expected to begin in April and conclude about August, said Marshall, from the zoning board.

The field of panels is planned behind the factory on Route 517 and far enough away that the closest residents would not see them, Marshall said.

"There's going to be very little disturbance," he said. "It's hard to imagine a project more environmentally sensitive than this use."