Tetra Pak plans to install a new solar array at the company’s US and Canada headquarters in Denton, Texas. Once up and running, the array will produce 1,027,638 kWh annually, according to the global food processing and packaging solutions company.
The campus houses the headquarters as well as offices, a pilot-scale food production plant, and a factory that produces packaging material for the company’s cartons. Last year Tetra Pak invested more than $25 million in factory upgrades, including a state-of-the-art laminator. There is an existing rooftop solar array on the campus.
The installation calls for 1,862 solar panels in total, and is set to be completed by the end of November, Tetra Pak says. Adding the array is expected to help the company reach its goal of using 100% renewable electricity in the United States by 2019 and worldwide by 2030.
Over the past two years, the company’s worldwide use of renewable electricity has increased by a factor of 2.5, up from 20% in 2016, according to Tetra Pak. They achieved this through solar power installations as well as purchases of international renewable energy certificates (I-RECs).
As a member of RE100, Tetra Pak aims to use only renewable electricity across all global operations by 2030. Currently global company gets half its electricity supply from renewables. Tetra Pak has more than 23,000 employees based in over 80 countries working on food processing and packaging.
“Using electricity from renewable resources makes sense for the environment and for business,” said Jason Pelz, vice president of circular economy for Tetra Pak Americas and Southeast Asia and Oceania. “It ensures we’re not tied to a finite resource to operate our business.”
The Business Renewables Center reported earlier this year that corporate renewable energy procurement is growing rapidly. In the United States, the BRC found that in the United States the number of buyers has jumped to 51 joining over the past five years.
