Furniture maker is greening its DCs

Ashley Furniture Industries has completed one of the largest rooftop solar installations in the country at its Leesport, Pa., manufacturing and distribution facility, the company said this week.

The project is part of a multi-phase effort to reduce the company’s energy footprint. It consists of 28,776 roof-mounted solar panels that will produce more than 9.6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year—roughly equivalent to the amount of power consumed by 786 average American households in a year, according to the company.

The project is the largest rooftop solar energy system in Pennsylvania and ranks among the largest commercial rooftop solar installations in the country, according to data from SEIA, the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry. Solar is expected to offset 90% of the facility’s electrical energy needs, the company said.

Ashley has rooftop solar installations on two other distribution and retail centers—in Romeoville, Ill., and Lathrop, Calif.—and plans to implement two more, in Redlands and Colton, Calif. Solar power helps support the company’s manufacturing and warehouse operations, which include IoT systems, automation and robotics, and battery-powered industrial vehicles.