4,365 Solar Panels — TicketNetwork's Latest 'Green' Initiative

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT — With 4,365 solar panels spread out over about 200,000 square feet of roof, TicketNetwork CEO Don Vaccaro has picked an imposing way to begin a company green energy initiative.

Vaccaro, local and state politicians and a cast of employees gathered on the rooftop Wednesday to show off the solar panels. It's the latest going green endeavor for TicketNetwork, a leading software development company in the ticket resale marketplace.

TicketNetwork's corporate campus is located at 75 Gerber Road.

The 1.4 Megawatt array of solar panels, which was completed in the spring of this year, will offset nearly 70 percent of the company’s annual energy use and "dramatically" reduce its carbon footprint, TicketNetwork officials said.

(Chris Dehnel/Patch)

"It is a goal of ours to be a good neighbor and environmental steward in all aspects of our operations," Vaccaro said. "This project is a big step in our continuing goal to minimize our consumption and be a role model within our community and beyond."

The system, developed by national solar solutions provider EnterSolar, features 4,365 solar panels and covers nearly 200,000 square feet – the bulk of available space on the roof of the TicketNetwork headquarters building. Installation guidelines were developed, in part, on "lessons learned" from the Jan. 18, 1978 Hartford Civic Center roof collapse, according to EnterSolar.

At 2.2 pounds each, the panels easily fall under the 3-pound threshold.

The $3 million self-financed project is among the largest installations in central Connecticut and the solar array is expected to pay for itself in terms of energy savings in approximately three-and-a-half years, Vaccaro said. He said, relative to green energy initiatives, Connecticut is "very business friendly."

He said the annual environmental benefits include:

• Greenhouse gasses avoided: 1.5 million pounds CO2
• Fuel use avoided: 78,000 gallons of gasoline
• Comparable impact: Nearly 18,000 trees grown for a decade

Vaccaro said supporting a "healthy environment" is "a key aspect of the TicketNetwork culture." Employees have access to seasonal fruits and vegetables from the company’s community garden and can visit the resident goats, geese, pigs, chickens, llamas and alpacas in its animal sanctuary, which is nestled in a clearing adjacent to the headquarters building.

TicketNetwork’s environmental efforts were recognized with the South Windsor Chamber of Commerce’s Beautification Award in 2014.

TicketNetwork was founded in 2002. It provides "sortware solutions" for the secondary ticket market. It's technology has allowed independent buyers and sellers to exchange more than $5.5 billion in live ticket inventory for 10,000-plus concerts, sporting events and theater productions worldwide.