Barrette Outdoor Living has completed the installation of a rooftop solar array on their 200,000 square foot aluminum fence and railing manufacturing facility in Brooksville, Florida, making it the largest privately-owned solar project in Florida at the time of contract.
The 2.35-MWDC system was designed and installed by Advanced Green Technologies (AGT) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The array is comprised of 27 inverters, 6,354 solar panels and is capable of producing more than 2,352,489 watts DC of power output which will offset approximately 81% of the facility’s electricity consumption.
The project is the result of the company’s interconnection agreement for solar production with Duke Energy Florida.
“Duke Energy Florida is proud to support Barrette Outdoor Living in meeting its sustainability goals. We know our business customers are interested in advancing more clean, solar energy in Florida. This is another example where we are working collaboratively with our customers to put the needs of our customers and community first,” said Catherine Stempien, Duke Energy Florida state president.
This is the second Barrette Outdoor Living plant to undergo a transition to solar power. In April 2019, the company completed installation of a 2.14-MWDC rooftop system at its 400,000 square foot facility in Galloway, New Jersey.
“As a leading manufacturer, we are proud of our commitment to build sustainable and environmentally-responsible practices to help green our supply chain and decrease our carbon footprint,” said Jean desAutels, president of Barrette Outdoor Living.
The company will continue to further their sustainable gains by working to implement solar panel programs throughout some of their other facilities over the next few years.
In addition to their green building initiatives, Barrette Outdoor Living owns and operates GreenWays, a recycling program for pre- and post-consumer rigid PVC with facilities in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Plant City, Florida. GreenWays partners with individual suppliers to manage the disposal of their scrap materials in an eco-friendly manner. The results of the program help reduce CO2 emissions, lower greenhouse gases and decrease landfill waste in local communities.
News item from Barrette Outdoor Living
In the mid to late 2000s a lot of big box stores began using solar PV arrays on their roofs to offset their electric bill each month. Now it seems like a “no brainer” to load up a roof that keeps the hot, cold, rain and snow out with solar PV panels and generate at least a portion of energy needs each day. The manufacturing sector is realizing there is (something) they can do about overhead and cost controls in running the facility.
“The 2.35-MWDC system was designed and installed by Advanced Green Technologies (AGT) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The array is comprised of 27 inverters, 6,354 solar panels and is capable of producing more than 2,352,489 watts DC of power output which will offset approximately 81% of the facility’s electricity consumption.”
This facility may find out that during the solar PV peak production portion of the day, they might be well off installing a large ESS and save some of the generated solar PV to battery and switch that power out during utility “demand charges” parts of the day. From now on smart operations will garner that other 19% energy requirement for an average 100% self generation plant.