Rooftop Solar Tracking System Chiquita Banana Saves Money 

A building that is leased by Chiquita newly made use of its 368,000 square feet of Californian roof and installed over 3000 solar panels. The trend in corporate solar projects is to produce as many kilowatt hours as plausible often on a limited rooftop space. That all appears very common for a rooftop solar installation, but the distinction is that the panels are mounted on an unusual, state-of-the-art rooftop tracking system, which advances PV production an approximated 30%.

The purpose for the solar project was that Chiquita had started toward a long-term lease with the building’s owner, and the lease declared that the renter would be liable for replacing 368,000 square feet of roof, as well as negotiating directly with the local power utility. The related expenses to be paid by the tenant were $1.28 million and $100,000 respectively. Chiquita knew that by joining solar to the rooftop, they could not only save money but benefit by using clean and green energy. With solar in mind, the owner altered the lease so that Chiquita could supervise the installation of solar with the agreement that the company would buy all of the electricity generated over the lease term. In trade, the owner would fund the roof investment as well as deliver the solar to Chiquita at a reduced price.

The 1.25MW (dc) solar system was finished by West Hills Construction Inc. and allotted 3,334 LG solar modules mounted to Edisun PV Booster tracking systems.

Rooftop Solar Savings For Chiquita 

Edisun states that the Chiquita facility is the biggest corporate rooftop installation of a PV tracking system. Tracking systems work by facilitating the solar panels to tilt as the sun passes above every day, thus catching more of the sun’s energy for a more extended period than a fixed tilt installation.

Solar Success Story

The project finance is a success tale in themselves. The owner anticipated that the solar installation would improve the property’s market value by $4.3 million with no rise in property taxes due to the solar installation. Also, the owner forecasts using future annual kWh cost savings as an incentive to prolong the term of the tenant’s lease. From the tenant’s perspective, they saved over $1.4 million in year 1 by not holding to foot the cost of the roof replacement or maintenance. And by utilizing clean energy, the business is meeting its corporate sustainability objectives.

“From responsible water management to the adoption of renewable energy, environmental stewardship has been a key pillar of the Chiquita business for decades,” stated Andrew Biles, president, and chief executive president, Chiquita Brands International. “Going solar at our Oxnard facility helps us directly achieve our corporate sustainability goals, and meaningfully strengthens our leadership position among environmentally conscious global organizations.”

With all of these great moves by commercial and industrial companies going solar, it's time you gave this some serious contemplation.  Is your company losing money to high energy utility costs each month?  The answer is most likely yes, so reach out to HahaSmart today and start saving.  If you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much you can save over the next 20 years by going solar, and we can help find local solar installers who can help. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.