October 21, 2008

FedEx Breaks Ground On 1.4 Megawatt Solar Facility In Germany

FedEx Express recently broke ground on what the company is touting as its largest solar facility and its first outside the U.S. It began construction of its new Central and Eastern European gateway at the Cologne/Bonn, Germany airport, which is slated for completion in 2010.

The Cologne hub installation will feature a 1.4-megawatt solar power system that is expected to generate about 1.3 gigawatt hours of electricity per year; equivalent to the annual consumption of 370 households. Solar panels, fitted to the roof of the new ramp and sort facilities, will cover a total surface area of 16,000 square meters.

The Cologne hub solar installation joins a list of FedEx on-site renewable energy investments. In 2005, FedEx flipped the switch on a solar-electric system at its regional hub in Oakland. In its first three years, the company says the system has provided more than three million kilowatt-hours of clean energy, avoiding more than 1,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

In September, FedEx and BP Solar announced the completion and activation of a 269 kilowatt rooftop solar array for a FedEx Freight distribution center in Fontana, California. It has also installed a solar power system in Whittier, California.

Fast Company recently reported that FedEx hybrid truck plan hit a speed bump and that it only has 172 of the trucks on the road. The company’s goal is to replace its 30,000 medium-duty trucks with hybrids over the next 10 years.

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