International logistics and freight giant UPS has announced it is investing USD $18 million in 10 megawatts of solar panels for some of its facilities in the USA.
More than 26,000 solar modules in total will be installed on at least eight of its facilities, with the solar electricity generated to provide approximately 50% of each building’s energy requirements.
“Solar technology is a proven way to effectively and efficiently provide long-term power to our facilities,” said Bill Moir, director of Facilities Procurement, UPS. “We have a significant number of facilities that are well positioned to deploy solar at scale and increase our sustainable energy options for our buildings and electric vehicles.”
The 10MW of extra capacity, to be owned and operated by the company, is enough to supply the power needs of 1,200 homes and to avoid approximately 8,200 metric tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
UPS is no stranger to commercial solar power – in fact, it could be considered somewhat of a pioneer.
Back in 2004, the company installed solar panels at a facility in in Palm Springs, California that are still performing well today. UPS also has solar power systems at Lakewood, Parsippany and Secaucus in New Jersey.
Other sustainability efforts by UPS include what it calls a rolling laboratory of more than 7,700 alternated fuel vehicles that collectively cover more than 1 million miles each business day. The company’s alternative fleet has driven more than 1 billion miles since 2000; a milestone it reached one year ahead of target.
These vehicles included all-electrics, electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrids, propane, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biomethane. Like solar, electric vehicles aren’t a relatively new thing for the company – its first EV’s went into service in the 1930’s.
Between 2009 and the end of 2016, UPS invested more than $750 million in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations globally.
“Through our rolling laboratory, we can determine how alternative fuels and advanced technologies perform in real-world operating conditions, quickly deploy viable options at scale, and spur market growth for alternative solutions,” says UPS.
