A 4.3 MW solar project will power the company’s on-site production facility, with excess going to the state.
Stanley Black & Decker, the venerable tool manufacturer founded in 1843, unveiled a 4.3 MW solar farm in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, said to be the state’s largest privately funded on-site solar project. Completed by Castillo Engineering and RPG Energy Group, the solar farm will power Stanley Black & Decker’s 280,000 square-foot onsite production facility, and is expected to deliver 5,500 metrics tons of C02 reductions and an annual energy savings of $400,000.
The ground-mount solar installation is made up of 10, 415 First Solar Series 6 thin film modules, mounted on Solar Flexrack S-Series single-axis trackers with self-powered tracker controls. The facility has a total of 28 Sungrow 125W string inverters. The distributor for the modules, inverters and AC gear was Greentech Renewables, formerly CED Greentech.
According to Stanley Black & Decker, this solar installation will produce enough energy to offset 100% of the annual energy needs from the plant. Rather than building the solar system off site and claiming the carbon credits, Stanley Black & Decker has committed to building this solar array on its property, connecting behind the meter to achieve the company’s net-zero energy goal at this facility.
Stanley Black & Decker’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) strategy includes 2030 commitments aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. “As part of Stanley Black & Decker’s global environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, this project represents an impactful milestone as the organization progresses toward its mission of carbon neutrality by 2030,” said Rob Kirts, director of global energy and utilities at Stanley Black & Decker.
While the tool manufacturer has powered some of its other facilities in the U.S. with on-site and off-site renewable energy, this project represents the company’s first on-site, wholly owned, 100% offset solar project. Stanley has many solar and energy saving projects planned for the future, some of which are currently underway. These projects range from on-site solar to energy efficiency upgrades that reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions to support the company’s ESG goals.
RPG Energy Group, headquartered in Indianapolis, is a renewable energy company that offers schematic design and engineering through final construction and system monitoring within the renewable energy markets.
Based in Maitland, Florida, Castillo Engineering is a design and engineering firm that delivers expertise in solar and energy storage design, engineering and consulting services to developers, EPC contractors and utility companies. The company’s services cover electrical, structural and medium & high voltage for residential and utility-scale projects ranging from 5 kW to 500 MW.
