SunEdison, a leading worldwide solar energy services provider and a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR) and Staples the world's largest office products company, announced a production milestone of more than 30 million kilowatt-hours of energy produced through solar installations on Staples' properties, which is enough to power 1,800 average U.S. homes for one year.
Since the solar hosting program between SunEdison and Staples began in 2005, SunEdison has developed solar installations on 33 Staples sites in California, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey, helping to avoid an estimated 45.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions to date. The installations include a 1.5 Megawatt array in Hagerstown, Maryland, among the largest in the state. The power from these renewable sources is used across the company's facilities, including Staples retail stores, delivery fulfillment centers, customer service call centers and sales offices. Additional solar installations on Staples' properties are planned.
"Staples is an established leader in its industry and a leader in operating their business in a sustainable way," said Carlos Domenech, president, SunEdison. "This is a terrific clean-energy milestone. SunEdison is pleased to continue to work with Staples to develop solar solutions that make sense for their business and to reduce their emissions."
The solar hosting program is made possible through power purchase agreements (PPAs) between Staples and SunEdison. Through these PPAs, SunEdison finances, installs, owns, operates and maintains the solar power systems deployed at Staples facilities, with no upfront costs for Staples. Staples benefits by purchasing the energy produced over 20 years at locked-in rates that are at or below retail market rates, which helps offset its grid demand.
"This solar power milestone demonstrates Staples' ongoing dedication to sustainable business," said Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs for Staples. "Working with SunEdison for solar power requires no capital investment and no operating expense for Staples, provides power at or below the price for grid power, and helps us meet our sustainability goals."