Suniva, Inc., America’s manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon PV solar cells and solar modules, announces that it is powering Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas through 186kW of rooftop PV array.
The new store, located in the Domain shopping center, features an 186kW array consisting of Suniva’s high-powered OPTimus modules – it is the largest solar installation in Texas for Whole Foods Market. Austin-based Freedom Solar Power, designed and installed the array, complete with a highly visible roof-mounted solar awning, and innovative in-lobby monitoring system that captured Whole Foods’ desire to make the system an engaging educational element for their customers. The solar modules, and the balance of system components, were provided to Freedom Solar Power thru Gexpro, a Suniva strategic distribution partner.
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| Whole Foods Market’s branch in Redwood City, California. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia) |
“Not only will the array offer Whole Foods a reduced carbon footprint and electricity bill, but it further strengthens its alternative energy investment strategy,” said Matt Card, vice president global sales and marketing of Suniva. “The highly visible array will surely attract the customer’s eye. We encourage the customers to take advantage of the monitoring system in the market’s lobby, which shows the energy savings in real-time - something we can all appreciate.”
Bret Biggart, managing director, Freedom Solar Power, said that the unique system allowed his company to fully utilize the building’s roof space and maximize array capacity. Whole Foods’ willingness to be creative let Freedom Solar Power to design a system that will meet its 2015 goal of reducing the building’s energy consumption by 25% per square foot.
“Whole Foods Market is thrilled to set the environmental bar even higher by pioneering the development and deployment of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power,” said Lee Matecko, global vice president of construction and store development, Whole Foods Market. “We are also reducing energy consumption in new and existing stores with some exciting innovative technologies that are making a real difference.”