US renewable company EcoEnergy has completed a 1.6MW rooftop solar installation on a warehouse used by catering supply-chain business WEBstaurant Restaurant Supply. The 7,000 panel development is the first of three that WEBstaurant plans for solar arrays on its facilities in the US and the company estimates this will lead to energy savings of $74,000 a year. The warehouse is located in the Upper Leacock Township around 60 miles west of Philidelphia.
Chris Ichter, in EcoEnergy's business development department, said, 'Many companies are very environmentally conscious in this day and age. Being able to offer them a substantial solution while at the same time positively impacting their bottom line makes it a win for the environment as well as the consumer.'
US companies are increasingly interested in managing their consumption and this, combined with generous feed-in tariffs in many states, is prompting a surge in rooftop and micro generation developments. Chinese photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer LDK Solar has recently been contracted for what will become one of the largest privately-owned solar developments, a 14.1MW project in New Jersey. A scheme in San Francisco was launched last month to encourage small businesses to install PV equipment and DelSolar completed a 1.15MW installation on a warehouse in California.