Fresh & Easy to Install Solar Panels on Nine Arizona Stores

Tesco-owned Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market plans to install roof-mounted solar systems on nine stores as part of its continuing efforts to make its operations more sustainable.

The grocer is working with REC Solar on the project. The combined 410 kW of installed solar systems will produce an estimated 620,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, it said, which is the equivalent of reducing 22 million pounds of CO2 emissions – or removing 28 million car-driven miles – over the next 25 years.

“With the success of our solar panel installation on our distribution center, we’re confident these systems on our stores will help cut down on energy costs even further,” said Tim Mason, Fresh & Easy CEO. “Through innovations like these, Fresh & Easy has been able to cut back on the amount of energy and water we use, efficiencies that help us keep our prices low for our customers.”

Fresh & Easy is no stranger to solar energy; ity has invested in one of California’s largest solar roof installations on its distribution center in Riverside, Calif. The installation, which is more than 500,000 square feet, currently produces about 1/5 of the energy for the entire facility. Fresh & Easy’s website features a live reporting feed from the solar installation at the distribution center, reporting in real time the performance of the panels (http://freshandeasy.com/GreenBuilding).

Installation of the REC Solar systems will begin in March 2011 at the following stores:

El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy operates more than 150 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada.