HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. - Those green M&Ms really are getting greener.

The New Jersey candy factory that produces M&M's flipped the switch today on a new solar array that provides clean energy.

The 18-acre facility in Hackettstown is one of the state's largest and can generate 2 megawatts of solar energy. That handles about one-fifth of the plant's needs and is enough power for roughly 1,800 homes.

McLean, Va.-based Mars Inc. provided the land next to its manufacturing facility. Newark, N.J.-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. spent more than $10 million on the 28,000 solar-panel array.

Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman, who headed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, called the project a blueprint for environmentally friendly business investment.