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Powering your company with solar energy is an investment worth doing. The idea is spreading globally and giant corporations are fighting to be the most sustainable in the world. But how can they influence to make the Earth greener?
Top-tech giant go solar
Apple is moving rapidly forward to being 100 percent renewably powered company. In 2015 Apple is to invest building large solar plant in Monterey, California by First Solar. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company will pay $850 million over 25 years to cover headquarters, data centers and stores electricity usage in California. In order to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions, all data centers are already powered by 100 percent renewable energy. Namely, data center in Maiden, North California has the nation’s largest privately owned on-site solar array. Between 60 and 100 percent of the clean energy is generated onsite by biogas fuel cells and two 20-megawatt solar arrays. Any additional power needs are purchased from entirely clean sources. Apple’s renewable capacity in Reno, Nevada is 100 percent powered by geothermal energy, which uses heat right from the earth. In addition, reducing impact on environment Apple designs new buildings and renovates existing ones to be a role model of energy efficiency and green building design.
Many ways to contribute to
environmental impact reduction
Nestlé also is one of the companies to improve resource efficiency in its factories around the world. Purina PetCare factory in Arizona owns 1,900 solar panels on its’ rooftop, making it the largest solar array for a private enterprise in the region. Solar arrays in Atlanta power equipment in various areas of the plant, including processing, packaging and warehouse departments. Besides this, in 2012 St. Louis Headquarters was equipped with 24-kilowatt solar panel array and a solar water heating system. In 2013, Food company in Mexico won a prestigious award from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for covering almost all of its energy needs by renewable sources. 85 percent of electricity needs are covered by wind power. Chiapa de Corzo Coffee Mate factory has also invested in CHF 240 000 in a major solar energy project.
Accompanying the Solar Impulse
to promote sustainability
Nestlé’s strong commitment to environmental sustainability led the company to a partnership with Solar Impulse. Nestlé’s Health Science develops and provides pilots with specialized diet during unique round-the-world flight in solar powered aircraft. As Stefan Catsicas states “Message is very important to Nestle, as you know, sustainability is very important to us. What Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are doing is basically telling the world that you can be a responsible, environmental friendly person and still do extraordinary things.”
Another company to participate in Solar Impulse flight around the world powered only by energy from the sun is the leading power and automation technology company ABB. Forming an innovative and technological alliance, companies promote the reduction of resource consumption and usage of renewable energy. The task of ABB engineers is to enhance control systems for ground operations, improve the charging electronics for the plane’s battery systems, as well as to resolve obstacles that emerge along the route. Integrating renewable energy efficiently into power grids, ABB is helping to build the most-comprehensive electric vehicle fast-charging network in Europe.
Largest solar power plant
in Nordic countries
In addition to this, another influential project by ABB is the largest solar power plant in Nordic countries, built in Finland. The solar power plant in Helsinki is the first to use string inventers together with a central one. The system has provided ABB with valuable insights about behavior of similar plants in Nordic climate and is expected to benefit from long summer days in this region.
