Community solar programs help homeowners and businesses cut their monthly electric bills without the cost or process of installing rooftop solar panels. They are also attracting the attention of some unlikely but familiar customers: fast food restaurants.
Electrek reported that more than 130 Wendy's restaurants now use community solar to source between 30% and 100% of their energy.
Spanning locations throughout Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, the Wendy's company partners with Ampion to facilitate around 27.5 million kilowatt hours of solar energy. According to Electrek, "This is equivalent to CO2 emissions from electricity used by over 2,200 households annually."
Participating Wendy's restaurants receive Renewable Energy Certificates for each megawatt hour of renewable energy generated and sent to the electricity grid.
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This news is a shining example of how a major corporation can set a precedent for affordable, clean energy usage in an industry plagued by persistent environmental criticism.
These 130-plus Wendy's restaurants already invested in community solar serve as inspiration for the nearly 6,000 other Wendy's locations in the U.S., paving the way for widespread corporate change towards a healthier, greener planet. Meanwhile, companies like Ampion make locally produced, money-saving solar energy easier than ever with no installation requirements and direct access to statewide renewable energy incentive programs.
Learning about news stories like this one is an excellent way to support the eco-friendly initiatives of major brands and use your purchasing power to advance global sustainability benefits for the greater good.
"While I'd love so see every unshaded rooftop covered with solar, it may be more cost-effective, and certainly faster, for Wendy's to buy renewable electricity (or in this case, the RECs) in bulk from a 3rd-party, than installing hundred+ small-ish systems," an Electrek reader wrote in the comments. "Whatever, either way is better than today's grid mix IMHO."
"Normally you'd want to avoid a green burger, but in this case I'll take a double," one Electrek reader commented.
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