Almo Corporation just added 529 roof-mounted solar panels to its Wisconsin-based warehouse facility. The move allows Almo to lower energy costs by operating through the use of sun-produced energy to fulfill 80 percent of the facility’s electricity needs.

Installed by SunVest Solar, the addition of the WI warehouse solar panels are expected to produce 254,565 kWh of energy annually — about the average electric use of 21 homes per year — while generating enough electricity to offset 151,170 miles worth of gasoline (based on greenhouse gas emissions) and 339,420 pounds of coal (based on CO2 emissions) on a yearly basis.

The completion of the WI warehouse marks the third roof-based solar panel remodel that Almo has completed since 2019. Almo’s 2020 conversion to solar panels for its Philadelphia headquarter warehousing space alone has enabled Almo to send more than 65 percent of the solar electricity it produces back into the grid.

Here’s a cool video with Almo’s President and CEO Warren Chaiken, and Almo Executive Vice President Ed Gibbons as they literally “turned them on:”

According to Almo Vice President of Operations Mike Shive, “At Almo, we are focused on sustainable business practices that reduce our overall carbon footprint and minimize our impact on the environment so we can give back to the communities where our facilities are located. Our solar-paneled warehousing facilities, which have continued to operate throughout the pandemic, have reduced electricity consumption by 45 percent in 2020 alone.”

Shive added, “We are always looking for ways to reduce our dependence on grid-generated electricity and plan to update our GA warehousing facility to roof-mounted solar energy in the near future.”

Almo also conveyed that all Almo warehouses utilize motion-sensing lighting, which cuts electricity use in half. Almo is working to further improve energy efficiency of warehouse lighting by another 15-25 percent by replacing all fixtures with LED technology.

Additionally, Almo is converting its fleet of more than 125 forklifts from liquid propane engines to highly efficient, battery-operated forklifts. These “eco-performance” lift trucks produce 80 percent less CO2 emissions and operate 17 percent more efficiently than standard electric lift trucks.