Logistics bright spots
Freight terminals and logistics services providers, particularly on the sun-rich U.S. West Coast, are increasingly looking for ways to take advantage of solar energy to power their facilities.
In early April, the Port of Los Angeles outlined a five-year plan to install solar panels to generate electricity.
'As we continue to plug more ships into electric power and test electric applications of drayage trucks, hostlers and other cargo-handling assets, our air will be cleaner but our electricity consumption will grow,' said Geraldine Knatz, the port's executive director, in a statement. 'This initiative will help offset that power consumption, ultimately providing a power supply that is equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 2,500 homes.'
The port plans to install 71,500 square feet of solar panels on its World Cruise Center rooftop by the end of 2009, which will generate about 1 megawatt of electricity. A $9 million construction contract was recently approved by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners for this first phase of the solar power generation initiative.
Three additional phases are expected to occur within five years, ultimately generating 10 megawatts of power through 1.16 million square feet of solar panels.
In November 2007, California's Port of Oakland installed a ground-mounted solar power system at the airport, which is capable of generating up to 1 million kilowatt hours at peak output.
In 2005, FedEx Express began to exploit solar energy by activating a 905-kilowatt system at its Oakland hub, capable of generating enough power for 900 average homes or 80 percent of the facility's peak energy demand. At the time, the project was considered California's largest corporate solar-power rooftop installation.
FedEx Freight followed up in the spring of 2008 with two other large solar rooftop installations, including a 282-kilowatt system at its Whittier, Calif. facility, and a 269-kilowatt system at Fontana, Calif.
Warehouse roofs are ideal for solar panel installations because they offer vast expanses of unobstructed access to sunlight.
In March 2008, ProLogis, one of the world's largest warehouse providers, entered an agreement with Southern California Edison, one of the largest U.S. utilities, to lease 607,000 square feet of roof space on its Kaiser Distribution Center No. 7 for the installation of solar panels. The potential energy generation of 2.4 megawatts is enough to power 1,300 households for a year.
ProLogis in October 2008 then arranged a rooftop lease agreement with Portland General Electric in Oregon to install 1.1 megawatts of thin-film solar panels on three buildings in its Park PDX and Corporate Center East.