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Wisconsin-based Ashley Furniture intends to spend $29 million on solar panels to power its factories as part of a plan to offset more than a third of its energy needs.
The company, with electricity demands equivalent to more than 10,000 Wisconsin homes, expects to trim its electric bills by $5 million in the first year alone.
“We need a lot of energy to manufacture our products and it only makes sense to use renewable sources,” founder and chairman Ron Wanek said in a statement. “This is a long-term investment, not only for Ashley, but for our environment. We are taking proactive steps and hope to see others in our industry join us.”
The first phase of installations involves about 17.5 megawatts of capacity, said Chad Sorenson, president of Madison-based SunPeak, which is handling the design, construction and maintenance of the projects.
Included in that is a roughly 7-megawatt system on the roof of Ashley’s headquarters campus in Arcadia, which would be the largest rooftop solar system in the state, according to Renew Wisconsin.
Construction is expected to begin this month on a smaller installation at a distribution center in Romeoville, Illinois.
Solar panels are planned for factories in California, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas. Those in Arcadia and Ecru, Mississippi, are likely to be the largest.
Ashley’s goal is to offset 35 percent of its electricity needs, which will likely result in more panels…
