Campbell Soup Co., in partnership with BNB Renewable Energy Holdings, SunPower Corp. and ORIX USA Corp., has broken ground on a 4.4 MW solar power project at the company’s world headquarters in Camden, N.J. Scheduled to come online this fall, the project will provide energy to Campbell through a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and is expected to generate more than 5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
The project, developed by BNB, will feature SunPower’s rooftop, carport and ground-mount solar solutions. At Campbell’s 38-acre world headquarters campus, 2.7 MW will be installed on the rooftops of existing structures and on new solar canopies that will be erected in the parking lots. An additional 1.7 MW will be installed on an adjacent 4.5-acre remediated brownfield that BNB purchased specifically for the project, making use of otherwise unusable land and increasing the capacity of the overall solar project.
The system in Camden will be the third solar project that BNB has developed for Campbell, following the 9.8 MW system at Campbell’s facility in Napoleon, Ohio, and the 1 MW system at Campbell’s Pepperidge Farm bakery in Bloomfield, Conn. Both of those projects also use SunPower’s solar panels.
“We’re excited to partner once again with BNB and SunPower to add a third solar array to Campbell’s U.S. footprint,” says Jim Prunesti, vice president of global engineering at Campbell. “This project contributes clean energy to the local grid and demonstrates to our community the viability of renewable energy sources, all while supporting Campbell’s sustainability strategy to deliver long-term value to our business and neighborhoods.”
BNB and ORIX USA, a diversified financial company with a strong commitment to renewables, will jointly own the project. The term debt is being financed through utility PSE&G’s Solar Loan Program.
“Bringing a cost-saving solar system to Campbell’s world headquarters marks a great moment, and we see a bright future for other Fortune 500 companies who follow Campbell’s lead and turn to renewable energy to stabilize energy costs and reap rewards from the sun,” says Matthew Baird, managing partner of BNB.
The project will also feature five electric vehicle (EV)-charging stations, provided by PSE&G via its EV Workplace Charging Program, for use by Campbell employees.
