SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In under six months, SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) completed the installation of a Texas-sized, 8.79-megawatt solar system spanning across four parking garages at Toyota Motor North America's new 100-acre headquarters in Plano, Texas. SunPower was also responsible for the original design of the solar system.
"Toyota's new campus serves as a model for corporate sustainability and an inspiration for others looking to reduce their own carbon emissions and environmental footprints," said Nam Nguyen, SunPower executive vice president. "With SunPower's carport solutions, our experienced design and construction teams delivered long-span, garage top solar canopies that fully incorporate the Plano site's unique structural conditions. As the trusted solar partner for 70 percent of the top 20 commercial solar users nationwide, SunPower is proud to work with a world-class company like Toyota on this groundbreaking project."
The solar installation marks an important step toward meeting Toyota's Environmental Challenge 2050, which aims to eliminate carbon emissions in the company's operations. Toyota demonstrates an increasing trend of growing renewable energy investment among corporations, as reaffirmed by an Apex Clean Energy and GreenBiz 2017 State of Corporate Renewable Energy Procurement report. According to the report, 84 percent of large corporate respondents plan to be active in the renewable energy market within the next decade to meet sustainability goals.
In an effort to achieve LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USBGC), Toyota designed its campus for sustainability, focusing on energy planning for emissions reduction, sustainable landscaping and repurposed rain water for water conservation, and recycling.
To meet its goals in energy planning, Toyota selected SunPower to install more than 20,000 of its high-efficiency E-Series solar panels that produce 30 percent more energy from the same space over the first 25 years when compared to conventional solar panels. SunPower® E-Series panels are Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Silver which demonstrates a product's quality based on rankings in five categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy use, water stewardship, and social fairness. By installing E-Series panels, Toyota is not only able to meet approximately 33 percent of its on-site energy needs with solar, but the company also had a significant advantage in reaching its LEED® Platinum goal, achieved for its new campus as announced just last month. Cradle to Cradle certification helps maximize the number of LEED credits that could be earned for a solar system. On typical commercial projects, SunPower panels help contribute up to 35 percent of the credits required for LEED certification.
"At Toyota, we demonstrate our commitment to sustainability, our culture of respect, and continuous improvement in everything that we do, whether its designing a new car or our new campus," said Doug Beebe, general manager of Toyota's real estate and facilities/corporate security and fire services for North America. "Thanks in part to SunPower and their products and capabilities, Toyota's headquarters campus achieved LEED Platinum certification – something that we know our team and community are proud of."
At 8.79 megawatts, Toyota's system is the Lone Star State's largest corporate office on-site solar installation among non-utility companies, and Toyota's fourth solar project completed with SunPower. For more on Toyota's holistic sustainability efforts, see SunPower's Business Feed article here.
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.
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, relative generating capacity, and anticipated product performance. 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 Forms 10-K and 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.
©2017 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. LEED PLATINUM is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council. Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
SOURCE SunPower Corp.