To protect and preserve food products while ensuring minimal waste, specific temperatures must be maintained. However, cold storage consumes significant energy, which contributes to Australia’s overall carbon footprint. Americold is turning towards solar panels to reduce the drain on the power grid and to reduce energy costs.
Australia is known for its abundance of sunlight, with an average of more than 2,500 hours of sunshine per year. This makes it the ideal location for the installation of solar panels, allowing Americold to generate a significant amount of energy throughout the year by utilizing the roof footprint of the warehouses.
Recently Americold completed an installation of more than 2,000 solar panels at the Murarrie site in Queensland. These panels will generate enough energy to power more than 220 homes for a year and will avoid the release of over 1,200 tons of MTCO2e emissions from entering the atmosphere.
Americold kicked off its long-term global solar strategy in 2013, identifying opportunities to reduce energy usage and to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and to be an environmentally responsible organization.
Advocating for improvements in energy efficiency is an ongoing commitment at Americold. Environmental stewardship is part of the foundation of the Americold operating principles. Our approach to sustainability is driven by our people, projects, and purpose.
The cold storage industry is a critical part of the Australian economy, with many businesses relying on refrigeration and freezing technology to store and transport temperature-sensitive food products. This was particularly evident during the Covid-19 pandemic when global supply chains faced challenges caused by lockdowns, labor shortages, freight issues, and excessive customer demand.
To learn more, visit our regional websites:
www.americold.com.au
www.americold.co.nz
Or contact us directly in:
Australia
New Zealand
USA