In an event attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, PermaCity Solar and American fashion retailer Forever 21 unveiled plans to install a 5.1 MW (DC) high efficiency SunPower solar power system at Forever 21's headquarters in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. The system will be the largest single-rooftop solar power system in Los Angeles County and the third-largest in California.
The planned system makes Forever 21 the latest business to participate in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program. It will also become the first project to utilize both of LADWP's local solar programs — the FiT100 Set Pricing Program and the Solar Incentive Program at one location.
"Forever 21 is in a unique position to encourage innovation and accelerate the adoption of clean energy, including solar power," said Don Chang, founder and CEO of Forever 21. "We are honored to be part of this program and to be contributing to L.A.'s goal of generating 33% of its electricity from renewables by 2020."
PermaCity is designing and installing a system for Forever 21 using SunPower solar panels which deliver up to 36% more electricity than conventional solar panels, and are warranted to deliver guaranteed performance with minimal degradation for 25 years. PermaCity will also install the system using its SolarStrap racking products that are manufactured in Los Angeles.
"The solar system we will construct here on site will provide Forever 21 with the best solar technology available on the market today, designed to deliver reliable, emissions-free electricity over the next 25 years or more," said PermaCity CEO Jonathan Port.
When completed this summer, the system is expected to generate enough energy to power approximately 1,450 Lincoln Heights homes. According to estimates, it will avoid the annual production of almost 13 million pounds of carbon dioxide – equal to the emissions created by burning 6 million pounds of coal, or the equivalent of taking 1,200 passenger cars off the roads.