Albertsons, SunEdison activate solar-power systems at 3 stores

Fullerton, Calif. Albertsons a division of Supervalu, and SunEdison, North America's largest solar-energy services provider and a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, Tuesday announced the activation of rooftop solar-power systems at three Albertsons grocery stores in Carlsbad, Oceanside and Alpine, Calif. The installations were constructed by channel partner REC Solar.

SunEdison financed the solar-power plants and will monitor and maintain the systems that will produce more than 12 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy over the next 20 years. The environmental attributes associated with the systems will offset more than 13 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the initial 20 years of operation -- the equivalent of taking 1,300 cars off the road for the same period.

"We are delighted to align with SunEdison for the activation of these solar sites that required no upfront capital costs for Albertsons," said Rick Crandall, director of environmental stewardship for Albertsons Southern California Division "The sites will allow us to continue making progress on our cost-saving measures and to support the use of clean energy as an alternative to the grid."

Under the solar-power purchase agreement (SPPA) with SunEdison, Supervalu will purchase the energy produced to offset their demand from the grid for 20 years. The solar power plants are the first activated between Supervalu and SunEdison.

SunEdison worked closely with channel partner REC Solar, which has completed more than 35 commercial solar systems for national and local retailers, totaling 16MW in the past 24 months. Supervalu and SunEdison are investigating future deployment opportunities in other regions of the United States.