On March 19, Porsche Logistics, LLC installed a solar array on the roof of its Ontario, California facility which will provide 30 percent of the location’s electrical needs for a staff of 44. Joining the unveiling were executives from Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) of Huntington Beach, and Ontario Mayor Paul S. Leon.
The 372-module commercial-scale solar array, rated at 80 kilowatts, will generate 135,000 kilowatt hours of electricity at a cost of less than $1 million, and will avert more than 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
The system was designed and installed by HelioPower, a solar engineering firm from Murietta, California, using solar modules from Sharp USA, and represents the first solar power system deployed by Porsche on the North American continent.
The installation, according to PCNA Vice President Tim Quinn, aligns with the Inland Empire’s Green Valley Initiative. The Inland Empire is a portion of Southern California largely represented by Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Green Valley Initiative, or GVI, is an organization of cooperating cities, government agencies, universities, school districts, businesses and environmental groups whose aim is to establish a clean technology center to combat climate change and create a jobs/housing balance.
Now that it is complete, PCNA’s new solar panel installation is slated to receive GVI’s “Certificate of Recognition”, the first ever given for environmentally sound projects in the region. Atlanta-based PCNA is the exclusive importer of Porsche sports cars and sport-utility vehicles for the United States.
On a global scale, Porsche AG – PCNA’s parent company in Germany – is on the cutting edge of environmental management. For example, a waste-recovery system initiated 20 years ago recycles 99 percent of the scrap generated at the company’s production facilities, and the vehicles themselves are built using 85-percent recyclable steel and other components.
In terms of fuel use and emissions, all Porsche vehicles are being designed with an eye to reduced fueling needs, and carbon emissions, of 20 percent by 2012, the end date for Kyoto-mandated environmental initiatives. The Boxster and Cayenne models have already achieved Ultra Low Emissions certification and meet standards set by California’s LEVII emissions ratings. Porsche is also pursuing a Cayenne hybrid that will reduce fuel consumption by 25 percent, and, if successful, the power plant will later be featured in the Panamera, a sportier version of the Gran Turismo.
In midsummer, PCNA will dedicate a new Northeast Regional Support Center in Pennsylvania that is destined to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its innovative, environmentally sensitive design.