L'Oréal USA is aiming 100% of renewable energy, and the group selected Scenic Hill Solar as the partner to achieve the goal. The two companies will jointly develop two large-scale commercial solar projects respectively in Kentucky and Arkansas for the sustainability target.
Both of the two projects will be built at L'Oréal USA’s manufacturing facilities. Originally, L'Oréal aimed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 60% from its 2005 baseline, the constructions will accelerate the goal and help achieve 80% reduction. Furthermore, L'Oréal USA has committed to 100% use renewable electricity as part of its sustainability strategy, Sharing Beauty with All.
"Reducing our CO2 emissions by 80% and achieving 100% renewable electricity for our U.S. manufacturing is a major milestone for L'Oréal USA," said Fréderic Rozé, CEO of L'Oréal Americas. "The achievement is a testament to our passionate, creative and innovative teams who have pushed us to go beyond our original ambitions. We are committed to being a sustainability leader in the United States and are proud of the progress we have made."
Projects
One of the to-be-built PV power plant is a 1.5MWdc solar power plant at L'Oréal USA's Florence, Kentucky manufacturing facility. Scenic Hill Solar will utilize approximately 5,000 solar panels to cover the facility’s roof, making it Kentucky’s largest commercial solar array.
The other project is a 1.2MWdc PV plant at L'Oréal USA's North Little Rock, Arkansas manufacturing facility. Scenic Hill Solar plans to mount around 4,000 solar panels on single-axis solar trackers for the ground-mounted project, which will extend over 8 acres of land adjacent to the facility. This project will be Arkansas’s third largest commercial solar array and the state’s fourth largest solar project, stated Bill Halter, CEO of Scenic Hill Solar.
Scenic Hill Solar plans to start construction on the two projects in late 2016 and complete them in mid-2017 for commercial operations. Together, the two projects are expected to generate over 107,000,000kWh of clean electricity per year, offsetting more than 75,000 tons of carbon emissions for L'Oréal USA over the next 30 years.