Kroger Puts Sunshine to Work Again in SoCal

Kroger is continuing to accelerate progress toward its sustainability goals, this time with a nearly 1-megawatt photovoltaic solar-power array at a bakery facility in southern California.

The installation of the array at the 300,000-square-foot bakery facility in La Habra, Calif., features nearly 3,000 solar panels to harness energy from the sun that can produce nearly 1 Megawatt (AC) of clean power and 2,009 Megawatt Hours (MWh) annually. That's enough energy to power 240 homes for a full year with an emission reduction equaling 300 cars driven for one year being removed from the road.

The La Habra Bakery employs over 200 associates in a seven-day, 24-hour operation. The bakery produces sliced bread, buns, rolls, donuts and English muffins. Its distribution footprint extends to 303 Kroger banners: Ralphs and Food 4 Less grocery stores.

"Kroger's newest solar installation is another responsible choice that supports our sustainability goals," said Erin Sharp, Kroger's group vice president of manufacturing. "We will continue to explore energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy options that are protective to the Southern California environment and communities we serve across America."

Kroger's manufacturing team partnered with REC Solar, a non-regulated subsidiary of Duke Energy, on the installation with support from the City of La Habra.

This is the second solar energy project to date for Kroger in the southern California market, following a 7,000-solar-panel installation last year at the retailer's 555,000-square-foot automated distribution center in Paramount, Calif. The installation joins earlier installations completed at the Fred Meyer distribution center in Clackamas, Ore. and the Smith's Food and Drug distribution center in Layton, Utah. Kroger has also installed solar power arrays at multiple stores. In 2019, Kroger's solar and wind installations combined produced more than 12.8 million kWh of renewable power.

Cincinnati-based Kroger employs nearly half a million associates who serve 9 million-plus customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,757 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food retailers in the United States.