Last week, American lender Bank of America (BoA) has announced the completion of a comprehensive Solar PV installation at its corporate campus in Chandler, Arizona. With the help of nearly 10,000 newly installed solar panels, the system will offset around 60% of the energy requirement of the campus each year. The construction of the solar project was begun in November 2020 and was completed in August 2021.

“Being carbon neutral is core to our $300 billion, a 10-year environmental business initiative that is helping finance the transition to a low-carbon future,” said Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America.

Solar Arrays on rooftops of campus buildings as well as carports canopies for providing shade to employee and visitor parking spaces have become part of the 3.7-MW solar portfolio. It is not out of place to mention that it also includes EV charging stations, a solar-powered ATM, and solar-powered benches throughout the campus that employees and visitors can use to charge personal devices such as smartphones and tablets.

“In 2019, Bank of America reached Carbon Neutrality through efforts like this project. While it is a good start, we aim to be Net Zero before 2050,” said Mark O’Grady, Real Estate Portfolio Management Executive at Bank of America. “Not only is it one of the largest behind-the-meter solar projects west of Ohio, but it also gives our employees something they’ve been asking for — great covered parking spaces.”

Cinemark and XD, a movie theatre chain, also completed a 365-kW rooftop solar energy project at it one of its theatres in North Haven. The 960-module array will produce nearly 434,285 kWh every year. Cinemark will own the system and use the clean energy it produces to power a meaningful portion of its operations. The company is also negotiating for 40 MW of wind power in Texas.

“We are proud to provide our Cinemark North Haven and XD guests with an immersive cinematic experience that is powered by clean, renewable energy, further expanding our portfolio of solar-powered theatres.”, said Art Justice, Cinemark VP of Energy and Sustainability. Not only will the system benefit the environment, but Cinemark will also realize significant savings on its energy bills.

Are solar carports worth it?

A solar carport or solar canopy is a structure that sort of acts like a garage, protecting your vehicle from rain and snow loads, with a solar-panel roof that creates energy. You can use that energy to charge your EV or to provide electricity for your home or your business.

A rooftop is the most convenient place for solar panel installations but if your roof is too shaded, or is at an unsuitable angle for solar panels, a solar carport is a great alternative.

For a business, solar carports allow you to customize the size of your solar array so if your company needs a lot of energy, a large parking lot can be the best spot to utilize instead of the roof.

Taking care of a substantial part of the energy bill with solar PV is definitely a great step. But what business needs to understand is that by adding batteries with a little more investment, the businesses can decrease electric bills by another 20%. With the help of batteries, excess power generated by solar PVs is stored for later in the day or at night. A little time-shifted energy can go a long way in the electricity budget.

There is lots more to discuss when it comes to evaluating different solar designs, and determining which combination is right for your specific locations and unique business goals. Our team works with businesses and corporates to examine and quantify all benefits of a potential project. Email us for a free site evaluation to see if solar canopies and carports are right for your business or call (408) 780-2889.