Communications giant BT now has a line to the sun: The firm has completed installation of a solar photovoltaic system at its North American headquarters.

The firm announced the project with much fanfare and a ground-breaking ceremony that featured Britain's Prince Andrew in February 2008. Work to install the 2,862-module, 601kW-DC solar PV system wrapped up in December.

BT expects the system, one of the larger arrays in Southern California, to produce 15 to 20 percent of the energy needed by the company's offices and data center. Its annual output is projected at roughly one million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity with a reduction in carbon emissions of 700,000 pounds during the same period.

The solar system was installed under a power purchase agreement between BT and Solar Power Partners, which owns and operates the system and sells the solar-generated electricity to BT.

The panels, which sit atop standing frames in the company's parking lot, use a solar tracking system from RayTracker Inc. Suntech Energy Solutions designed and installed the system, serving as a sub-contractor to Solar Power Partners. And the site owner, Broadreach Capital Partners, also was a major player in the project.

In addition to its solar program at work, BT is helping its employees explore use of solar power in their homes by enlisting the services of a couple of vendors. They help employees assess whether such a system would be feasible and efficient for their homes.

"BT wants to play a leading role in reducing carbon emissions generated by both businesses and individuals," Kevin Moss, head of Corporate Social Responsibility for BT Americas said in a statement. "In addition to reducing our own emissions and influencing suppliers and customers to do the same, we are encouraging our employees to reduce their personal carbon footprints and help them influence others in their local communities."

Moss is a guest columnist for GreenBiz.com.

BT says it has reduced its carbon emissions by 60 percent since 1996 and has a goal of bringing that number to 80 percent by 2020.

_{Photo courtesy of Chris Frierson / Suntech}