The Mariani Packing Company, which produces dried fruit, recently completed a 1.1 megawatt solar power system at its Vacaville, Calif., headquarters.
Located on seven acres and made up of more than 5,800 photovoltaic panels, the system is expected to produce 1.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The company says over 20 years, the system will produce enough electricity to power about 3,000 homes per year and offset more than 30 million pounds of CO2.
groSolar and SunEdison constructed and financed the system at no cost to Mariani. Under a long-term solar power services agreement, Mariani will purchase electricity from SunEdison. SunEdison will maintain the system.
Last year, Paramount Farms, a supplier of pistachios and almonds, opened a 1.1 mega-watt, $7.5 million solar plant in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
