US SunEdison launches 1.5 MW solar facility for Staples

(ADPnews) – Sep 23, 2010 – US solar electricity company SunEdison LLC, a subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR), has flipped the switch on a 1.5 MW solar park at a distribution centre of office products company Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The project, touted as the largest in the state, is composed of upwards of 11,000 solar panels that will turn out an estimated 2 million kWh of electricity each year. It will displace more than 74 million pounds (33.6 million kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

The installation takes Staples’ total solar capacity in Maryland to over 2.5 MW. It follows on the heels of a 1.1 MW project developed by SunEdison, which came online in June this year at a fulfillment centre in La Mirada, California.

Up until now, the two companies have collaborated on more than 30 solar power plants. SunEdison designs, develops, finances, operates, monitors and maintains the solar installations and Staples buys the energy produced to offset their demand from the grid at long-term predictable energy pricing.

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