United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) says a solar array at its Howell, N.J., distribution center is complete.
The 3.2 MW roof mounted solar array is the company’s eighth solar installation and is nearly three times larger than any previous UNFI installation.
UNFI also plans to complete LED energy lighting upgrades at 33 distribution centers that, once complete, are estimated to save the company approximately $15 million over a 10-year period.
The rooftop array contains 7,171 solar panels and was developed to generate an amount of renewable electricity approximately equivalent to the annualized energy demand at the Howell distribution center. The system is projected to prevent approximately 2,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from being released into the atmosphere annually. The system’s environmental benefits are equivalent to the emissions of 524 U.S. homes’ electricity use.
UNFI worked with PowerFlex, a provider of intelligent solar, storage and electric vehicle charging solutions for commercial and industrial customers, to complete the installation of the Howell solar array.
“The completion of our Howell solar array and investments in LED lighting at our distribution centers has already helped reduced our indirect Scope 2 emissions and will continue to help us as we work to reduce energy intensity in our distribution centers by 30 percent by 2030,” says Alisha Real, UNFI’s vice president of ESG and social impact.