Sep 28 2010
Frito-Lay North America, a business unit of PepsiCo, has declared its intentions to install cylindrical solar photovoltaic (PV) system over its rooftop and go eco friendly. The 1MW system will be installed by Solyndra, Inc a USA based company.
The proposed project will install around 5,600 solar panels to cover an area of over 247,000 square foot. The installation of the system which is expected to be over in eight weeks time will produce around 1 MW solar power to meet the peak hour production requirements of the company and to reduce its dependence on external power resources by 25%. The installation will reduce around 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the company every year. The proposed rooftop system is the second such facility in the location. Earlier the company had installed a solar power concentrator in an area of 5 acres utilizing 54,000 square feet of concave type of mirrors. The solar energy captured by the installed 384 solar collectors is currently utilized by the company to produce steam and to provide enough heat to the cooking oil used for frying the SunChips at the facility. The implementation of renewable energy facilities at the plant has lessened its power usage by 19%, its gas usage by 30% and the use of water by 44%. The Plant received the LEED® Existing Buildings Gold certification during July this year.
Thomas Melead, Frito-Lay Modesto’s Technical Manager, said that his company is employing novel renewable energy technologies such as utilizing of solar power to reduce environmental impact and green gas emissions. He added that the new Solyndra PV system enables the company to use maximum solar energy and to manage some of the power requirements of the plant without depending on grid power.
Source: http://www.fritolay.com/