PLANO, Texas and SAN JOSE, Calif., June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR) and Toyota announced today that SunPower is designing and plans to construct a 7.75-megawatt solar power system at Toyota's new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas, which the auto maker plans to occupy next year. Expected to generate 25 percent of the headquarters' total electricity demand, the system is anticipated to be the largest corporate office on-site solar installation among non-utility companies in the state of Texas.
The project will be comprised of three solar carport structures using high efficiency SunPower® solar panels. Two of the carports will each have a 2.45-megawatt capacity, and are planned to be operational mid-year 2017. The third, 2.83-megawatt solar carport is expected to be delivering power for the Toyota campus by end-of-year 2017.
Compared to conventional solar panels, SunPower solar panels produce 45 percent more power from the same space in the first year of operation, which will allow Toyota to maximize the clean, renewable solar power generated on site. SunPower's direct current panels are also the world's first and only solar panels to achieve the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver designation for the sustainable practices used in their manufacturing.
Toyota is integrating a range of energy efficient technologies and sustainable materials into the design of its state-of-the-art campus, with the intention of achieving USGBC Platinum LEED Certification for the facility. High efficiency, Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver SunPower solar panels may offer Toyota a significant advantage toward achieving that goal.
"We are dedicated to making sure our new headquarters campus supports – even redefines – Toyota's commitment to the environment," said Kevin Butt, regional director, North American Environmental Division, Toyota. "The Plano solar system will not only reduce our environmental footprint and educate team members about renewable energy, it moves us closer to Toyota's 2050 global environmental challenge to eliminate carbon emissions in all operations."
"Toyota products are valued for innovation and reliability, and the company clearly has a strong commitment to sustainability. These are features that also differentiate SunPower and our technology, resulting in a powerful synergy between our two organizations," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. "SunPower is proud that our high-performance solar carport technology will be generating emission-free power at Toyota's new headquarters, raising the bar for corporate solar leadership in Texas and beyond."
SunPower solar power systems are currently operating a number of Toyota facilities in the U.S.:
- In 2008, at the Toyota North American parts center in Ontario, Calif., SunPower installed a 2.3-megawatt system that produces more than 3.7 million kilowatt hours per year, providing up to 58 percent of the electricity needed at the facility. At the time of completion, it was the second largest single-rooftop solar array in North America.
- Toyota's South Campus headquarters building in Torrance, Calif. was one of the largest privately funded systems of its kind when it opened in 2003. Also built by SunPower, the system covers 53,000 square feet of rooftop.
- Since 2009, a 1.5-megawatt SunPower solar power system has been operating at Toyota's facility in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
Toyota estimates that the SunPower system installed at its new headquarters will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 7122 metric tons, or the equivalent of almost 1,000 homes electricity usage for a year, and will position Toyota as the leader among auto companies in U.S. for installed solar power.
About SunPower
As one of the world's most innovative and sustainable energy companies, SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR) 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, and North and South America. For more information about how SunPower is changing the way our world is powered, visit www.sunpower.com.
About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.5 million in the U.S.) in 2015 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.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 construction, completion and delivery schedules, expected project timelines, 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, challenges inherent in constructing and maintaining certain of our large projects, 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 and the SUNPOWER logo are registered trademarks of SunPower Corporation in the U.S. and other countries as well. Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a multi-attribute certification program that assesses products and materials for safety to human and environmental health, design for future use cycles, and sustainable manufacturing.
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SOURCE SunPower Corp.