Tops stores going green with off-site solar power

Tops Friendly Markets is increasing its commitment to sustainability.

The grocery retailer is partnering with energy storage solutions company Convergent Energy + Power to deliver more renewable energy to upstate New Yorkers in the form of community solar paired with battery storage. As a result of the partnership, more than  

75 Tops stores will be powered by the solar farms, which will reduce the stores’ carbon footprint. 

The solar-plus-storage projects developed by Convergent provide Tops and upstate New Yorkers access to solar energy whether or not the sun is shining and reduce the state’s reliance on power plants during peak demand hours. 

Sustainability has always been at the core of Tops’ mission, which includes upholding standards that ensure the company reduces environmental waste and energy consumption while providing its customers with sustainably sourced, high-quality products. 

“Our ongoing commitment to sustainability is met with enthusiasm and resolve every day, as we work to ensure we leave our communities—and our planet—better for the next generation,” said John Persons, president and COO, Tops Friendly Markets. “We are excited to be working with Convergent, a values-aligned business with the expertise to deliver solar energy to our stores as efficiently as possible.” 

Convergent, founded in 2011, has a decade of expertise developing energy storage-led assets, with approximately half of its portfolio comprised of battery storage paired with solar PV, or solar-plus-storage. 

Community solar-plus-storage, facilitated by the Value of Distributed Energy Resource tariff in New York, allows the benefits of solar energy flow to businesses and individuals from off-site arrays and is an increasingly popular way to increase access to renewable generation. 

“We are enormously proud of the opportunity to simultaneously reduce emissions and support economic growth right here in our home state,” said Frank Genova COO and CFO of Convergent. “As the largest private employer in western New York, Tops is an ideal, New York-headquartered partner that shares our commitment to corporate, social, and environmental responsibility.”

Tops, based in Williamsville, N.Y., operates 157 full-service supermarkets in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and western Vermont, with five additional franchise stores.