Egg Harbor ShopRite Installs Solar Panel System

ShopRite is installing a rooftop solar power system to reduce energy consumption and lower the environmental impact of its Egg Harbor, N.J. store.

This environmentally-based initiative consists of the installation of 1,782 solar panels – each fixed to the roof of the ShopRite of Egg Harbor – and will produce 525 kilowatts, which will power in-store refrigeration and lighting. The new solar panel system is also expected to reduce energy consumption at the store, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 400 tons. The system will be operational later this year.

“This solar project allows us to build sustainable practices into our business while still providing quality service and comfort to our customers,” stated Kevin Begley, CFO of Village Super Market, Inc., which owns and operates the ShopRite of Egg Harbor “We recognize that our customers look for a shopping experience that not only offers them service and value but that also fulfills their desire to do what’s right for the environment. We will continue to look for new ways in which to reduce our environmental impact and to maintain an environmentally responsible store.”

In addition to installing solar panels, the Egg Harbor store uses high efficiency refrigeration systems and refrigerated store cases with energy-saving lamps and lighting systems to lessen its impact on the environment.

Village Super Market worked with Rockaway, N.J.-based The Solar Center to install the state-of-the art PV (Photovoltaic) system. The Solar Center also installed the 276 kW solar system at the ShopRite of Garwood in 2010.

The Egg Harbor project is in the design phase, and will be operational later in the year. "We chose The Solar Center for a second project because they demonstrated their experienced and knowledgeable engineering, installation and management teams bring to commercial projects of this size,” said Begley. “The Solar Center’s ability to efficiently handle all aspects of the project was critical in our decision".

ShopRite is the registered trademark of Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States with more than 230 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.