Macy’s celebrates Earth Day with new solar commitment

Macy's chose Earth Day to give an update on its ongoing solar power deployments.



The retailer, in a 10-year partnership with SunPower Corp., has deployed SunPower solar systems at, or planned for, 71 Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations in 10 states, totaling approximately 39 megawatts.



Fifty SunPower systems are operating to date, and the company is contracted to install its technology at 21 additional Macy's and Bloomingdale's facilities this year.



Macy's commitment to solar power positioned the company in the top 10 of 2015's U.S. corporate solar champions, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Including solar technology that was not installed by SunPower, solar arrays were installed on 78 Macy's, Inc. facilities by year-end 2015.



"We are so excited to partner with SunPower and join the fight against climate change," said Chuck Abt, Macy's senior VP of operations and logistics. "This solar technology partnership is a major component of our sustainable practice and we are committed to improving our carbon footprint for years to come."



Of the 21 systems planned for Macy's facilities this year, 19 of them – or 13 megawatts – will use the SunPower Helix Roof product, a fully-integrated rooftop solar solution for commercial customers. Helix is a pre-engineered, modular solution maximizes power production, and can be installed almost three times faster than competing technology, enabling customers to scale their solar programs quickly with minimal business disruption, according to the company.



In addition to solar systems, SunPower is also providing Macy's with battery storage systems at three stores in Southern California. The energy storage technology is expected to help those locations further manage energy costs by offsetting demand charges incurred by commercial customers.



Macy's is financing the majority of the SunPower solar power systems on its stores through power purchase agreements, which allows the retailer to buy power at competitive rates that act as a hedge against future utility rate increases, with no upfront capital cost.



Macy's does not own the renewable energy credits associated with most of the SunPower solar power systems installed on its facilities.



According to SunPower's calculations, the amount of power expected to be generated annually by the 71 SunPower solar power systems operating on and planned for Macy's facilities could power more than 15,000 electric vehicles for 30 years.



According to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the carbon dioxide emissions avoided each year as a result of the power produced from the 71 installed and contracted SunPower solar power systems on Macy's facilities is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from more than 37 million pounds of coal burned, or almost 4 million gallons of gasoline consumed.