General Mills Earns Rental Income from Solar Panels
General Mills is renting out the roof of its San Adrian plant in northern Spain for the installation of nearly 4,500 solar panels.
The company is not detailing the terms of the agreement, but the solar panels have been sold to green investors large and small, according to a company spokeswoman.
While General Mills is not currently purchasing the energy from the panels, it could be a future consideration.
The factory rented its roof space in a 25-year lease with Spain-based MB Solar, which installed the German-made panels, according to a General Mills blog posting. The solar installation generates nearly 1.5 million kWh annually, which goes into the network of the Spanish utility Iberdrola.
Although the plant currently receives all of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind power, it could purchase the electricity generated from the solar panels from Iberdrola.
The installation of the 5.5×3.35-feet solar modules was completed in July and marks the first time a General Mills plant in Europe has solar panels. The company has solar panels at its Minneapolis headquarters’ East Wing building and at two plants in China – to heat water, as well as at a General Mills facility in Massachusetts.
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