SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In California
where over one-third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of
the country's fruits and nuts are grown, businesses in the
agricultural industry are looking for ways to reduce costs while
continuing to deliver high quality products. In one of the nation's
sunniest states, farmers, food processers, beverage suppliers and more have
used complete solar solutions from SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) to save
on one of their largest operating expenses: electricity.
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One grower-owned almond processor based in the 7-square-mile town of
Buttonwillow, Calif., now offsets 90 percent of its
electricity costs with a 1-megawatt SunPower® Helix™ system. Golden
Empire Shelling can see up to 70 million pounds of almonds roll
through its state-of-the-art facility each year. With limited land
and water resources in the area, the company chose a solar solution
that delivers 29 percent more energy per square foot compared to
conventional systems, and can be robotically cleaned with 75
percent less water than manual methods.
"Land and water come at a premium in our valley, so it was
imperative that we get the most value out of our over 4-acre solar
installation," said John Wynn,
general manager of Golden Empire Shelling and 20-year almond
industry veteran. "With the cost-competitive solar generated by our
SunPower Helix system, Golden Empire Shelling will be able to
dramatically reduce electricity costs and our carbon footprint for
at least the next 20 years."
Golden Empire Shelling's SunPower Helix system was installed by
SunPower by Sun Solar. Celebrating its one year anniversary
recently, the Helix platform is the world's first fully-integrated
solar solution for commercial customers. Available for installation
as a carport, on the roof, or as a ground-mounted technology, the
Helix platform is a pre-engineered, modular solution designed to
deliver more energy and greater reliability than conventional solar
products.
"With our experience providing innovative SunPower® solar solutions and significant
savings to ag customers, we were able to design a highly efficient
system for Golden Empire Shelling that is expected to meet the
needs of their energy intensive operation for years to come," said
Jeff Periera, owner of SunPower by
Sun Solar, a SunPower master dealer.
"With the integrated Helix platform, every component is designed to
maximize energy from the sun, perform reliably and take up less
space. It's also quick and easy to install which is great for us,
and ideal for our customers that have a business to run."
Hundreds of miles away in Lodi,
Calif., Rivermaid Trading Co. processes and ships more than
50 percent of the state's pears and eight percent of the state's
cherries. With a 1.47-megawatt SunPower system, the company expects
to save more than $13 million on
electricity costs over the next 25 years.
"Corporations of all sizes are embracing solar energy as a
cornerstone of their operations," said Tom
Werner, SunPower president and CEO. "In the United States, for example, seven of the
top 10 corporate solar users have chosen SunPower. As we continue
to innovate with leading efficiency panels and complete solutions,
more businesses are realizing the long-term value that reliable,
high quality solar technology can offer."
SunPower continues to innovate on products that create even more
value for customers. The company's latest generation of the Oasis®
power plant designed for large
power plant installations, is a complete solution enabling dual use
of sites for both electricity and food production. Greater distance
between the Oasis tracker rows allows for integrated agricultural
activity. SunPower is partnering with University of California, Davis, a global leader in
agricultural studies, to evaluate possible crop varieties and
yield.
As the number of solar installations increase around the world,
the thoughtful integration of solar power systems with agricultural
lands and businesses is vitally important for the future of clean
energy. Read more about Golden Empire Shelling's solar experience
on the SunPower blog here, or how the ag industry is going "From
Farm to Table With SunPower Solar" here.
About SunPower
As one of the world's most innovative
and sustainable energy companies, SunPower provides a diverse group
of customers with complete solar solutions and services.
Residential customers, businesses, governments, schools and
utilities around the globe rely on SunPower's more than 30 years of
proven experience. From the first flip of the switch, SunPower
delivers maximum value and superb performance throughout the long
life of every solar system. Headquartered in Silicon Valley,
SunPower has dedicated, customer-focused employees in Africa, Asia,
Australia, Europe, North and South America. For more information about how
SunPower is changing the way our world is powered,
visit www.sunpower.com.
SunPower's Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding projected
energy output, and expected cost savings. These forward-looking
statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and
beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may
cause results, performance or achievement to materially differ from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include,
but are not limited to regulatory changes and the availability of
economic incentives promoting use of solar energy, and fluctuations
or declines in the performance of our solar panels and other
products and solutions. A detailed discussion of these factors and
other risks that affect our business is included in filings we make
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to
time, including our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q,
particularly under the heading "Risk Factors." Copies of these
filings are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings
section of our Investor Relations website at
investors.sunpowercorp.com. All forward-looking statements in this
press release are based on information currently available to us,
and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements in light of new information or future events.
©2016 SunPower Corporation. All Rights Reserved. SUNPOWER,
the SUNPOWER logo, HELIX and OASIS are trademarks or registered
trademarks of SunPower Corporation in the U.S. and other countries
as well.
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SOURCE SunPower Corp.