Vision Produce's Phoenix facility goes solar
Vision Produce's Phoenix facility goes solar
This April, Vision Produce Co. is installing a solar power generation system at its produce distribution center in Phoenix, which also includes offices for its Arizona sales and operational staff. It is expected to supply 59 percent of the electricity Vision Produce consumes in Phoenix every year.
The new system will include 1,930 solar panels and use a roof-friendly mounting structure that doesn't penetrate the roof,
Bill Vogel and by summer it will generate 377,580 kilowatt-hours per year, which will mitigate annual emissions of 260 metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 55 passenger vehicles, 620,000 driven miles or 29,200 gallons of gasoline every year.
During the summer months, the solar system will even produce a surplus of energy, which will be sold back to the Salt River Project, one of Arizona's larger utility companies.
"Because of having so many sun days during the calendar year in Phoenix, it just seems like the logical thing to do," Bill Vogel, president of Vision Produce Co., said in a press release.
Vision is funding the cost of this $536,000 enterprise with support from JP Morgan Chase, as a commitment to sustainability, preservation of the environment and expected cost savings in power usage over the long term.
The company said it was attractive financially despite Salt River's recent action to end its net metering policy for commercial solar projects. Salt River is also due to contribute an incentive of $9,960. For the execution of this program Vision partnered with Wilson Electric, which has installed over 60 megawatts of solar power in Arizona and New Mexico.
The First Solar Cadmium Telluride solar modules being installed in this project are well fit to work in the Arizona desert, as the nature of its thin film technology enables it to produce more energy per rate watt due to its superior performance above rated temperatures.
