How a Produce Giant Founded in 1995 Turned Rooftops into a 12 MW Solar Fleet

1. From a Small Fresh-Cuts Startup to an Energy Producer: What Drove the Move to Solar If you manage a refrigerated production facility, you know the pain: refrigeration and processing drive most of your power bill, and volatility in market rates eats margins fast. This case study looks at a nationwide fresh-produce company founded in 1995 that chose to invest in onsite solar across multiple plants. The company had steadily grown from regional to national scale, adding distribution centers and high-capacity refrigeration lines along the way. By 2018 its energy spend had ballooned; corporate sustainability targets pushed leadership to seek renewable supply that also offered predictable, long-term cost relief. Key baseline facts before the project began: Annual electricity consumption across five candidate plants: ~90,000 MWh Average blended retail rate: $0.12/kWh Annual energy spend: ~$10.8 million Corporate carbon reduction goal: 30% by 2030 (scope 2 focus) Those numbers framed a tangible question: could onsite solar reduce costs while cutting emissions meaningfully, without disrupting cold-chain reliability? https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/special/contributor-content/2025/10/16/eco-friendly-pest- management-why-hawx-smart-pest-control-is-a-leader-of-the-green-revolution/86730036007/ The answer came through a staged portfolio build that reached 12 MW of DC solar capacity distributed across five sites. The Energy and Operational Problem: Why Traditional Efficiency Measures Weren't Enough Managers had already implemented LED retrofits, compressor optimization, and variable-frequency drives. Those moves delivered incremental gains but struggled to address two stubborn issues: Demand charges during summer peaks continued to spike costs despite lower kWh consumption. Carbon reporting relied on grid emissions; without onsite generation, exposure to future carbon pricing remained high. Another constraint was space and uptime. Rooftops offered the largest available footprint, but any rooftop work must not interfere with loading docks, roof-mounted equipment, or produce handling zones. The challenge combined financial, technical, and operational requirements: reduce both kWh costs and demand charges, lower reported emissions, and keep facilities running without extra risk. Why Solar Plus Storage and Load Control Was Picked Over Other Options The team analyzed three primary options: third-party utility-scale RECs, offsite PPAs, and onsite solar with battery storage. The final decision favored onsite solar plus limited storage for several reasons that matter to facility managers: Onsite generation directly offsets demand and kWh simultaneously, unlike RECs which only address scope 2 reporting. Storage can shave peak demand, preserving the benefit during late afternoon dispatches when refrigeration compressors spike. Rooftop installations require no new land and minimize interconnection complexity compared with new substation builds. Financial modeling assumed a straight purchase financed through a mix of corporate capital and tax equity capture, taking advantage of the investment tax credit. The design prioritized modularity: each site would host between 1.5 MW and 4 MW DC, matching available continuous rooftop area and electrical capacity limits. Rolling Out 12 MW Across Five Plants: A 90-Day Implementation Timeline for Each Site The team used a repeatable 90-day cycle per site once initial approvals and financing were secured. Staging multiple sites allowed parallel activities while lessons from the first site refined the later rollouts. Days 1-15: Final Engineering and Permitting

2. Detailed PVsyst modeling established expected yield per site. Structural engineering confirmed roof loading and attachment zones. Local permits and interconnection applications were filed in parallel to avoid schedule drag. Days 16-45: Procurement and Pre-fab Racking, modules (bifacial where possible), inverters, and cabling were ordered. Pre-fabricated combiner skids and inverter pads cut field labor. Selecting modules with a tested temperature coefficient and low degradation rate mattered for cold-chain loads that run year-round. Days 46-75: Civil and Electrical Installation Roof crews completed attachment work during night shifts to avoid interfering with daytime loading. Electrical work included generator interlocks, switchgear upgrades, and metering. On-site SCADA integration began for real-time monitoring. Days 76-90: Commissioning and Performance Validation Commissioning validated DC/AC ratios, performance ratio (PR), and inverter clipping. A 14-day performance acceptance period confirmed expected yield before final signoff. Parallel to construction, operations teams implemented a controls plan for demand charge reduction: pre-cooling schedules, targeted load shift windows, and automated battery dispatch tied to utility demand events. From 0 to 18,000 MWh/Year: Measurable Results in the First 12 Months After the 12 MW portfolio reached commercial operation, monitoring showed the following first-year outcomes: Metric Value (First 12 Months) Total solar energy produced 18,000 MWh Average system performance ratio 0.80 Availability 99.2% Onsite energy offset (kWh) ~20% of combined facility consumption Annual energy cost savings (gross) $2.16 million (at $0.12/kWh) Demand charge reduction (estimated) $0.40 million CO2 emissions avoided ~7,200 metric tons (assuming 0.4 kg CO2/kWh) Net operating expenses for O&M $180,000/yr (approx $15/kW-yr) Financially, the installed cost before incentives was ~ $1.50/W DC, so the 12 MW portfolio cost $18 million. After applying a 30% investment tax credit and accelerated MACRS depreciation benefits through tax equity structuring, the corporate book payback landed around 6-8 years, depending on local utility escalators. The company reduced volatility in annual energy spend and made visible progress on its scope 2 target. 4 Hard Lessons About Commercial Solar for Cold-Chain Operators If you're considering a similar move, here are the concrete lessons the operations and engineering teams learned the hard way: Design for excess roof complexity: rooftop obstacles and microclimates can reduce yield by several percent if not accounted for upfront. Detailed drone surveys saved costly mid-project rework. Prioritize performance ratio over nameplate: two sites with equal DC capacity produced different yields because of orientation, so compare modeled annual MWh, not just kW. Plan for electrical upgrades: several sites required transformer or switchgear changes. Early coordination with the utility cut interconnect delays by weeks. Integrate controls, don't bolt them on: battery dispatch and load-shedding needed tight integration with plant PLCs. Testing during commissioning reduced unexpected curtailment of refrigeration loads. How Your Plant Can Mirror These Solar Gains: A Practical Playbook Here is a step-by-step checklist you can run through right now from the reader's perspective: Run a baseline: pull last 24 months of interval data to quantify kWh, demand patterns, and peak windows. Map available rooftop/adjacent land with a drone or Google Earth; estimate gross kW potential at ~100 W/sqft for rooftop systems as a starting point. Develop a yield model using PVsyst or NREL PVWatts; target a conservative PR of 0.75-0.82 for initial budgeting. Get a utility interconnect pre-application to identify required electrical upgrades and any TOU or demand charge rules that affect value.

3. Decide on ownership: buy vs. third-party PPA vs. lease. Buying captures tax benefits but requires capital or tax equity. Design for operations: include O&M contracts, SCADA integration, and scheduled maintenance windows that align with production downtimes. Model scenarios: run base case, high escalation, and conservative yield to find payback range and IRR you are comfortable with. Advanced Techniques Worth Considering Bifacial modules with reflective decking can increase yield 5-10% in suitable roof geometries. Single-axis trackers raise yield but require more roof height and wind load planning; rarely used on low-slope commercial roofs but useful on ground arrays. DC/AC oversizing (1.2-1.4x) increases energy harvest during low irradiance hours but increases clipping in peak sun; model site-specific tradeoffs. Performance forecasting and predictive maintenance using inverter telemetry reduce downtime and improve long-term PR. Pairing storage with demand charge management and time-of-use arbitrage improves economics in high-demand rate territories. Interactive Self-Assessment and Quick Quiz Use this short self-assessment to see if your site is a good candidate. Score 1 point for each "Yes": Do you have roof area greater than 50,000 sqft? Is your average blended electricity cost > $0.10/kWh? Do you have significant demand charges (over 30% of your bill)? Are your roofs less than 15 years from replacement? Do you have internal capital or appetite for tax equity financing? Scoring guide: 0-1 points: Low priority — explore offsite options and efficiency first. 2-3 points: Moderate candidate — run a detailed financial model. 4-5 points: High candidate — pursue a site assessment and RFP now. Quick quiz (answers provided): What is a realistic first-year performance ratio for commercial rooftop solar? (A) 0.50 (B) 0.80 (C) 0.95 Which factor most reduces yield: (A) shading, (B) inverter size, (C) module brand True or False: Batteries always pay for themselves through energy arbitrage alone. Answers: 1-B (0.80), 2-A (shading), 3-False (batteries often need demand charge reduction or other value streams to be economic). Final Assessment: Is This Right for Your Operation? From the reader's point of view, the question is whether the project solves both financial and operational constraints. For the company in this case study, solar reduced exposure to volatile rates, cut reported emissions by thousands of tons of CO2 annually, and produced a reliable, predictable reduction in energy spend with a corporate payback in the 6-8 year window. Expect upfront complexity: structural reviews, electrical upgrades, and operations integration are real. If you follow the checklist, model conservatively, and build a clear controls and maintenance plan, rooftop solar can be a pragmatic, measurable way to lower costs and emissions for cold-chain operations founded in any era — even companies that started in 1995 and have since grown into national players.