Campbell Soup, BNB Napoleon Solar to Build $21.6M for Solar Facility

Campbell Soup is partnering with BNB Napoleon Solar to build a $21.6 million solar facility that will provide electric power exclusively for Campbell’s operations in Napoleon, Ohio, the company’s biggest manufacturing site, reports The Toledo Blade.

Under a 20-year power-purchase agreement, Campbell plans to buy all the energy generated by the facility, which is expected to produce about 50 megawatts a year. Napoleon Solar will finance, own and operate the solar project, according to the article.

The Ohio Department of Development has approved a $10.5 million loan, which will be used to buy machinery and equipment for the facility. The project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2011.  Campbell will donate land for the project.

Anthony Sanzio, a spokesman for Campbell Soup, told the newspaper that the deal with BNB hasn’t been finalized.

Sanzio also told The Crescent-News, “We are always looking to use renewable energy sources whenever possible. We think this is something good for the company, good for the environment. We’re really excited about it.”

Solar panels for the Napoleon facility will be supplied by SunPower.

According to Campbell’s recent corporate social responsibility report, the company has set a goal to obtain 40 percent of its energy use from renewable or alternative energy sources by 2020.

The company’s sustainability efforts have helped Campbell Soup rank in the top-ten in a corporate social responsibility index in 2009.

Another recent solar project in Ohio includes a 48-kW DC solar rooftop system at the Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority (RTA), which is touted as the largest solar rooftop array in the state of Ohio.