Pepsi installs 2nd-largest solar power plant in Northwest

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080310/BIZ/803100302/-1/BIZ

Pepsi installs 2nd-largest solar power plant in Northwest

By SHERRI BURI McDONALD
The Associated Press
March 10, 2008 6:00 AM

EUGENE — Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co.'s offices and warehouse off Interstate 5 present a fresh face to commuters zipping by.

Renovations over the past few years have made the building easier on the eye, with sleek awnings and attractive landscaping. Out front a "bioswale" filters water running off the roof before it drains to the storm sewer.

Less obvious to passers-by are the facility's efforts to be easier on the environment: from converting the plant's truck fleet to biodiesel, to the recent addition of solar panels covering more than an acre of its roof.

It's the second-largest solar electric system in Oregon and Washington, according to Advanced Energy Systems, the Eugene-based company that installed it. The largest system also is in Eugene, atop Industrial Finishes, which supplies finishes to the automotive, recreational vehicle, aircraft and marine industries and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in April.

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[Dervill Crow]

1. Yay, Cascadia! (My country)

:kick:

[NNadir]

2. If this doesn't say something about scale, I don't know what does.

I'm used to "world's largest" and "New England's largest" and, of course "Maine's largest" wishful thinking about so called "renewable" energy, particularly solar and wind.

Of course, there is NOT ONE example of a subset of people on this website - sock puppets and originals - who has even the remotest concept of scale, because if, in the same breaths that they are announcing how "solar will save us" or "wind will save us," all the while engaging in dangerous fossil fuel apologetics, who has a sense of scale.

Pepsi's solar system should generate about 10 million kilowatt hours of energy over its expected lifetime of 35 years, according to Advanced Energy Systems. That's enough electricity to power about 21 Lane County homes over the same 35 years, estimates the Eugene Water & Electric Board.

If solar electricity were a serious matter, one would not be able to make the newspaper with a big spread about powering 21 homes. This is like the time a bunch of assholes with poor educations ran around here telling everyone who would listen - 200,000 times - about the great Utsira wind powered hydrogen scheme in Norway that powered ten homes.

As it happens, the funding is running out on the Utsira wind/hydrogen project and just as I predicted years ago, it was all talk and no action, all hat and no cowboy.

[Dogmudgeon]

3. " ... a fresh face to commuters zipping by."

This isn't really about solar energy. It's primarily about corporate greenwash.

I hope they remember to replace their incandescent bulbs with CFLs and set the thermostat to 68F in the winter. Maybe they can put bricks in their toilet tanks like in the 70s, too.

--p!

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. "It's primarily about corporate greenwash."

Do you have any evidence to support this claim? Any at all?

http://www.amonline.com/web/online/VendingMarketWatch-News/Pepsi-Bottling-Group-Receives-Green-Award-From-US-Environmental-Protection-Agency/1$20381

Pepsi Bottling Group Receives Green Award From U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

11/20/2007

The Pepsi Bottling Group has received a 2007 Green Power Leadership award from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The annual awards recognize the country's leading green power purchasers for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation's green power market.

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The purchase of renewable energy certificates is one of several steps PBG is taking to reduce its environmental footprint and improve the communities in which it operates. The company is focused on four key areas where it can have the greatest impact: water conservation, energy management, recycling, and solid waste reduction.

Recent highlights of the company's ongoing sustainability initiatives include:

• PBG reduces water usage through the application of innovative design and technology, thereby conserving millions of gallons per year.
• PBG is embarking on an initiative to more efficiently manage its delivery routes. This will mean fewer trucks on the road and decreased emissions.
• The water bottles produced by PBG weigh 14 percent to 22 percent less today (depending on size) than they did just three years ago. In partnership with other Pepsi bottlers, the weight reductions on Aquafina bottles alone save 35 million pounds of plastic annually.
• PBG recycles tons of materials in its production facilities, and is expanding its efforts to increase recycling rates on items including corrugate, shrink wrap, and electronic equipment. To help accomplish this goal, the Company is developing partnerships with national recycling vendors to help identify recycling opportunities and create best practices. More than 77 percent of the waste produced by PBG plants is currently recycled.

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PBG is one of 17 companies honored by the EPA for their commitment to green power. PepsiCo, which owns about a 40 percent stake in PBG, was also recognized. PepsiCo ranks first on the EPA's Green Power list.

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