ROCKY HILL, Conn. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), SunEdison and Whole Foods Market today hosted a dedication ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of a 121-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed on the rooftop of the Whole Foods Market Distribution Center located at 400 East Johnson Road in Cheshire, Connecticut. Covering about 10% of the 150,000 square foot roof of the Whole Foods Market building – or about half the size of a football field – this solar PV installation is the largest in the State of Connecticut, generating approximately 137,500 kilowatt hours of clean electricity per year and supplying 10% of the facility’s total energy needs.
The installation at Whole Foods Market, in fact, is five times the size of the next largest solar installation in Connecticut. When the system is operating at its "peak" capacity, it will generate enough power to light over 1,800 light bulbs, and over the course of one year, the system will provide enough energy to keep each of those light bulbs lit for 1,332 hours, or about 55 days around the clock. Additionally, the clean energy that the system is expected to deliver will enable the avoidance of 65 tons of CO2 emissions each year.
Jennifer McDonnell, regional green mission specialist of Whole Foods Market, said, "Whole Foods Market is committed to green power, and we are the only Fortune 500 company to offset 100 percent of its power usage in the United States and Canada with renewable energy choices. Green building, energy efficiency and clean energy programs – like the installation of the state’s largest PV system – at our Cheshire distribution center, are central to our core values of caring about our communities and being a leader in environmental stewardship."
Click here to read the entire press Release from Connecticute Clean Energy Fund.
The
growing trend of corporations implementing solar energy systems is testament to
the technologies viability. If these firms couldn’t justify the install either
financially or socially then it would not be done. The retail food company
Chipotle is adding solar to many of its locations in the Dallas area, taking
advantage to ever-decreasing solar
panel prices.
The
growing trend of corporations implementing solar energy systems is testament to
the technologies viability. If these firms couldn’t justify the install either
financially or socially then it would not be done. The retail food company
Chipotle is adding solar to many of its locations in the Dallas area, taking
advantage to ever-decreasing solar
panel prices.