FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) and the City of Oakland, California today announced that FedEx Express will construct California's largest corporate solar electric system atop its hub at Oakland International Airport.
The 904-kilowatt solar array will be second in size only to Fala Direct Marketing's solar system in Long Island, New York, which is 1.02 megawatts.
It will be built at its hub at Oakland's international airport, and is scheduled to begin operations in May, 2005. It will provide approximately 80 percent of the peak load demand for the company's Oakland facility, which employs 1,700 people.
"With this project, FedEx will deliver more environmental innovation to California," said Mitch Jackson, managing director, corporate and international environmental programs, FedEx Express. "From hybrid electric delivery trucks to solar power, we are proud to lead our industry in committing to real, practical ways to reduce pollution, conserve fossil fuels, and contribute to a greener world."
"FedEx is proving that solar power works for business," said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. "Thanks to the vision shown by FedEx, we're adding nearly one megawatt of zero-pollution electric generating capacity to Oakland. With this project, we're well on our way to my administration's goal of adding five megawatts of solar power in Oakland by the end of 2005." The project also supports the environmental sustainability goals of the Port of Oakland, which hosts the FedEx Express hub facility.
FedEx's solar generation system will cover 81,000 square feet on the roofs of two buildings. Sunlight will be converted directly into electricity by 5,769 photovoltaic modules, comprised of more than 300,000 solar cells from Sharp, the world's leading producer of solar technology. In addition to generating electricity, the solar panels help insulate the buildings, reducing their heating and cooling costs.
The Oakland solar project will be designed and built by Berkeley-based PowerLight Corporation.
FedEx would not say how much the system will cost to build, but said up to 50 percent of the cost will be funded by state money administered through utility Pacific Gas and Electric.
This is the second major FedEx environmental innovation in California this year. In Sacramento in March, FedEx Express became the first company to make a long-term market commitment to develop and use hybrid electric delivery trucks, developed in partnership with Environmental Defense and Eaton Corporation. The FedEx OptiFleet E700 diesel-electric hybrid trucks will be rolled out in additional U.S. cities later this year.
While FedEx has some 70,000 vehicles in its express and medium duty fleets, the company hopes to make hybrids one of its "standard" vehicles, said Jackson.
"We are are working diligently to make these vehicles viable not only for us, but for other fleets as well, we want other companies out there to adopt this technology and share in this environmental benefit " said Jackson.
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