Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) plans to build Vermont’s largest solar array on top of its distribution center in Waterbury. Construction of the 100 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic array is expected to begin in the spring of 2009 and be completed by summer.
The solar array is the result of a partnership between the coffee company, the State of Vermont, Green Mountain Power and installer groSolar. The electricity generated by the approximately 530 solar panels will produce a small percentage of the total electricity Green Mountain Coffee needs for its production facilities in Waterbury. Company officials say the greater benefit is in showing what is possible for the future.
GMCR is one of nine "core" companies that have set the standard for the SB20 List produced by SustainableBusiness.com’s green investing newsletter, Progressive Investor.
“Renewable energy must be a part of our overall energy strategy,” says Paul Comey, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. “We want to show our state and federal governments that solar energy works, and that we need a policy that provides a broad-reaching structure for renewable energy.”
GMCR will benefit from Green Mountain Power’s SolarGMP program, which provides financial incentives to its customers to install solar generation at their homes and businesses.
groSolar CEO Jeff Wolfe says Vermont’s tax incentives for commercial solar systems, coupled with grants from the Vermont Department of Public Service’s Clean Energy Development Fund and Green Mountain Power, made the economics of the system very attractive.
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