Burkholder’s Getting Solar Carport System
Burkholder’s Country Market, in Spring Mills, Pa., has selected SunDirected, a SunPower Commercial Dealer, to install a 581-kilowatt high-efficiency solar-power system. The installation will encompass three solar carports and, is expected in its first year of operation to generate more than 700,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity for the independent grocery store.
“Our desire to diversify and to cap a large cost for decades to come was one of the main factors that led us to consider solar energy,” explained Russ Burkholder, owner of Burkholder’s Country Market, which serves residents in the Penns Valley area. “We selected SunDirected because they were competitive and introduced us to SunPower which offers the most reliable and highest-efficiency solar panels in the industry. We were also comfortable with them because they are a local company with similar shared values.”
Partly funded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, the carport system will provide covered parking for Burkholder’s Country Market shoppers.
“It is rewarding to see Burkholder’s experience the financial savings and long-term benefits that a SunPower solar-energy solution offers,” said Michael Shadow, CEO of State College, Pa.-based SunDirected. “The well-known reliability of SunPower technology, coupled with Burkholder’s Country Market’s reputation for quality and customer service, made this project a no-brainer. An added benefit is that Burkholder’s expects to save more than $1,400,000 in electricity costs over the next 25 years.”
The project will break ground in August and is expected to be completed in November.