CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoCore Energy announced today that it has been chosen as the solar developer to assist Walgreens in completing one of the nation’s largest solar energy rollouts. Construction of the first 20 solar installations at Ohio-area Walgreens began earlier this month at stores in Cincinnati.
SoCore Energy, a Chicago-based solar developer, is under contract to provide 90 Ohio solar installations for Walgreens. The first 53 will be completed by November 11th, pushing Walgreens’ total number of solar sites to 136. The first tranche of installations includes 14 sites in Columbus and 19 other locations in Southwest Ohio, including Dayton.
SoCore has chosen Power-One, Inc. (Nasdaq: PWER) as its exclusive provider of inverters for these projects, citing Power-One’s product breadth, quality, reliability and industry-leading yield as key factors in its decision. SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer for more than 35 years, will supply high-performance solar panels for the Walgreens effort. Thousands of the company’s 240-watt crystalline silicon panels will supply a total of 2 megawatts of power to the retail giant.
In addition to Walgreens, SoCore Energy provides solar installations to Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, schools and REITs.
“Walgreens’ impressive sustainability efforts include this substantial commitment to solar power and on-site renewable energy,” said Pete Kadens, SoCore Energy president. “These projects are certainly indicative of Walgreens intent to be one of the most environmentally considerate retailers in the world.”
The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority in May provided a $5.2 million loan to SoCore for development of the 53 rooftop solar systems across the state, including five in northwest Ohio. The remainder of the project’s $9.9 million cost is being funded by SoCore and a federal solar tax credit. Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions is a key partner in this project as well.
“This effort is a testament to the support provided by the state of Ohio, which helped us seamlessly transition from concept to execution of this important effort. The state is truly laying the foundation for a solar energy ecosystem that will benefit residents for generations,” Kadens added.
Walgreens will lease the arrays from SoCore for 10 years.
SoCore’s work in making solar systems financially viable for corporate customers was acknowledged with a Chicago Innovation Award last year. Prior Innovation Award winners include Motorola, Threadless.com, Flashpoint and CNT Energy.
About SoCore Energy LLC:
SoCore Energy LLC is a national developer of custom solar installations for sale or mid-term rental, giving customers the ability to hedge electric costs while making responsible renewable energy investments. Headquartered in Chicago, SoCore offers industry-leading service, flexible terms and extensive familiarity with leveraging national and state renewable energy credits and tax incentives. To respond to rapid technological progress in the solar industry and economic uncertainty, SoCore pioneered SRS, the Solar Rental Service. For more information, visit www.SoCoreEnergy.com or call 1-877-SOCORE1.
About Power-One:
Power-One is a leading provider of renewable energy and energy-efficient power conversion and power management solutions and is the world's second largest designer and manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters. Its renewable energy products enable the industry's highest yielding conversion of power from solar arrays for use by utilities, commercial enterprises and homes. Power-One has a 40 year history as the leader in high efficiency and high density power supply products for a variety of industries including Renewable Energy, Servers Storage & Networking, Industrial and Network Power Systems. The company is headquartered in Camarillo, CA and has global sales offices, manufacturing, and R&D operations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Power-One is traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PWER. For more information, please visit: www.Power-One.com.
About SolarWorld:
SolarWorld is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems of all sizes, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. The group´s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany and Hillsboro in the U.S. State of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs about 3,500 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX and ÖkoDAX as well as in the sustainability index NAI. Additional details are available at www.SolarWorld.com.