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Campbell Soup installs 9.8 MW plant

SunPower has supplied modules and a tracker system to a Campbell Soup Company site in Ohio. The ground-mounted system, called the SunPower Oasis, will supply 15 percent of the Campbell facility’s power.

SunPower claims the tracker system delivers a 25 percent increase in "sun captured".

BNB Renewable Energy Holdings developed the project and has a PPA under which Campbell will purchase 100 percent of the solar installations output. In a statement announcing the installation's inauguration this week, Campbell’s Dave Stangis said: "Campbell is committed to managing our environmental resources with tangible initiatives that produce measurable results."

Enfinity co-developed the project, with financing coming from the Wells Fargo bank and the EPC services being supplied by SunPower.

Rafael Dobrzynski, CEO of the Enfinity America Corporation said that developing large-scale distributed generation projects such as this, would be a way forward for the company. "More and more commercial and industrial companies are seeing that on-site solar energy is a viable business proposition and a brand-builder, as it shows a commitment to sustainable energy." He continued: "Importantly, our access to rapidly deployable capital means we can accelerate the pace of development without relying on the federal cash grant."

The installation is spread over a 60-acre site. SunPower claims its T0 tracker system increases "sunlight capture" of the array by 25 percent.

Campbell Soup has an aim to reduce energy use by 35 percent per ton of product by 2020, and to source 40 percent of its energy requirements from "renewable or alternative sources."