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With the flip of a switch, PermaCity Solar and American fashion retailer Forever 21, powered-up a massive 5.1MW (DC) high efficiency SunPower solar power system, crowning the construction project that employed many local workers.
The system at Forever 21's headquarters in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles is now the largest single-rooftop solar power system in Los Angeles County and the third-largest in California. The system makes Forever 21 the latest business to activate a system supported by the LADWP Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program. It is the first project at one location to utilize both of LADWP's local solar programs—the FiT100 Set Pricing Program, and the Solar Incentive Program.
"We applaud Forever 21 for building the largest solar rooftop system in the city. It's a great example of how a business can use both of LADWP's customer-focused, local solar programs to generate solar power for their own use as well as to benefit the entire city with clean renewable energy," said Marcie Edwards, LADWP General Manager.
PermaCity premiered its SolarStrap™ racking product on Forever 21's roof. SolarStrap™ is manufactured in Los Angeles, it has no penetrations that could cause roof leaks; and, since, it does not rely on bulky ballast, it does not stress the buildings' structural integrity. SolarStrap™, was literally baked into the new TPO roofing allowing 15,512 SunPower modules to become part of the solar roof. PermaCity designed and installed the system for Forever 21 with the help of West Hills Construction, using SunPower’s high efficiency solar panels.
Now completed, the system will 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.