SunPower customer Golden Empire Shelling (GES), one of California’s largest nut processing plants based in Bakersfield, California wanted to realize operational efficiencies for its leading-edge almond shelling facility with a high-performance solar system.
SunPower’s Solution… the installation of a 1.04 MW SunPower® HelixTM system, with 2,400 panels tracking the sun for maximum energy production on 4.5 acres. The system offsets an estimated 90 percent of the almond processor’s electricity use with solar in the peak season, and more than covers electricity use during the off-season.
The net savings of this project? $394K in the first year alone, and approximately $10 million over 20 years.
In addition to installing such a massive array, SunPower also utilized a robotic cleaning system to keep the panels clean and shiny to harvest the full potential of the sun. This robotic cleaning solution cleans 10x faster than manual cleaning and uses 75% less water.
Read the full case study here.
Drone aerial photography for SunPower by Jason Tinacci of Trellis Aerial Productions. Bakersfield, California.