Perdue completes largest solar installation project

US poultry processor, Perdue has completed the installation of one of the largest solar installations as part of its’ commitment to environmental responsibility.

Governor Martin O’Malley and other Maryland dignitaries celebrated the completion of one of the largest commercially owned solar power systems in the eastern United States at Perdue Incorporated’s corporate headquarters. Executives from project partners Perdue, Standard Solar, Inc. and Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES), as well as state and local elected officials and business leaders attended an open house at the site to observe the array of 5,040 solar panels.

“By demonstrating through smart, targeted investments that we’re committed to solar, we position Maryland as a leader in solar energy,” said Governor O’Malley. “We also help attract green businesses to our state and make it easier for companies like Perdue to make the commitment to a long-term investment in renewable energy. The strategies we’re using as a state to advance the job-creating, planet-saving power of solar energy are helping us lead the way toward a greener future – right now, and in the future.”

The installation on six acres of Perdue property is the company’s latest initiative supporting its commitment to being environmentally friendly. The Salisbury installation will supply electricity to adjacent Perdue Corporate headquarters, and is the final phase of nearly 12,000 panels installed at two Perdue facilities.

“Completion of this project is another step forward in our commitment to environmental responsibility,” said Jim Perdue, chairman, Perdue Incorporated. “Stewardship is one of Perdue’s core values, so this is a perfect fit for the way we do business.”

The panels are owned by WGES and were installed by Standard Solar. Perdue will purchase green electricity generated by the solar panels at guaranteed prices. The first phase of the installation is in Bridgeville, Del., and was completed in August 2011.

Both systems will generate a combined average of 3,700-megawatt hours of electricity each year, or the amount of power used by 340 typical U.S. homes. At peak production, the panels will produce as much as 90 percent of the electrical demand for each Perdue facility.

Perdue is engaged in other alternative energy initiatives, including a biogas-to-energy project at its Cromwell, Ky., poultry processing facility and a biomass burning installation at its Cofield, N.C., soybean processing plant. Ten years ago, Perdue built the nation’s first commercial poultry litter-processing plant, the only process that is verifiably removing excess nutrients from the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Source: Perdue