The clean energy upgrade at the R.A. Jones facility in Covington will be complete with over 3,000 solar modules and six electric vehicle charging stations.
R.A Jones, a Coesia Company and specialist in the design and manufacturing of packaging machinery, is covering approximately 85% of its 250,000 square foot rooftop with solar modules. The solar installation is expected to produce 20 GWh of clean energy annually or enough to power 195 homes.
The 1.7 MWdc project also powers six electric vehicle charging stations, which have already been installed on the R.A Jones’ campus for use by company employees.
Construction on the roof installation has begun, with Melink Solar of Milford, Ohio providing the design and build of the solar installation. The project is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2024.
Melink Solar is using Sollega ballasted racking, with VSUN and Znshine panels. The six EV charging stations feature PowerPost EV chargers from Konnectronix. Both Konnectronix and Melink are members of the Workplace Charging Challenge, U.S. Department of Energy initiative to expand the EV Everywhere program that is part of the “Clean Energy Grand Challenges,” which encourages companies to increase the amount of workplace EV chargers.
The solar installation is expected to offset 33,200 tons of atmospheric CO2 in its 30-year lifespan, or the equivalent of taking 252 cars off the road for 30 years or planting nearly a half a million trees.
R.A Jones’ business focus is helping its customers be more environmentally focused by reducing packaging, substituting plastic shrink-wrap with recycled paperboard, etc. The decision to install solar and EV chargers at its U.S. facility is in keeping with that focus.
“For years, R.A Jones has been working to help some of the largest consumer brands in the world meet their sustainability initiatives by lessening the impact their manufacturing processes and packaging has on the environment,” said Jonathon Titterton, CEO of Coesia Americas and R.A Jones. “Our company is firmly committed to being environmentally responsible and ready to transition to renewable energy at our Covington plant.”
R.A Jones is the first Coesia company in the United States to power its facility with photovoltaic systems. Coesia, a global operation headquartered in Bologna, Italy, projects that the R.A. Jones installation will reduce the company’s electric bill by $6.4 million over its 30-year life span.
