May 26 2010
Office products company Staples, Inc. and SunEdison, a solar power services provider and MEMC Electronic Materials subsidiary, have announced the achievement of production milestone of 15 million kWh – sufficient to power more than 700 homes annually – from 32 solar installations located in Staples fulfillment centers and stores throughout North America.
In 2005, the solar hosting program of SunEdison/Staples started with solar deployments located at Staples sites in Ontario, California; Englewood, New Jersey; and Rialto, California. Since then, 32 facilities of Staples have been deployed by SunEdison in Connecticut, Maryland, California and New Jersey. As on date, the solar installations have helped avoid around 17.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
Power purchase agreements (PPA) between Staples and SunEdison have facilitated the solar hosting program. By means of such agreements, SunEdison operates, finances, owns, maintains and installs the solar energy systems deployed at the facilities of Staples. Staples, in turn, will buy the energy generated to balance their grid demand.