Greenskies, Vanguard complete rooftop solar projects for cold storage facilities

Solar Builder | Chris Crowell
October 5, 2022

Greenskies Clean Focus and Vanguard Energy Partners, a national solar construction firm, have completed rooftop solar projects at two cold storage facilities for third-party food logistics company FreezPak Logistics, totaling 2.4 MW. The recently energized solar energy systems are located in Carteret (985 kW) and Elizabeth (1,414 kW), New Jersey.

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), refrigerated warehouses have one of the highest electric energy consumption rates in the commercial building sector. Their electric usage often ranges from 40 to 60 kilowatt-hours per square foot per year, with refrigeration accounting for more than 70 percent of overall electric use.

Greenskies funded the projects at no upfront cost to FreezPak, who will purchase the power generated by the arrays from Greenskies at a low, fixed rate for the next 15 years. Greenskies will also provide ongoing management and maintenance.

“Our company is very focused on controlling cost, not only for the bottom line but also to continue our support to be closer and closer off the grid,” said Mike Saoud, Co-CEO of FreezPak. “The use of hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels, upgraded dock equipment, and most recently the use of ammonia refrigeration systems. These are all components of becoming a more sustainable organization. The use of our hydrogen plants will also pay off in the very near future with hydrogen tractors coming into the market.”

FreezPak Logistics is a family-owned company headquartered in Carteret, New Jersey. The company currently operates five facilities, including four in New Jersey and one in Philadelphia. The solar installations at FreezPak Carteret and Elizabeth are projected to generate a combined 2,833 MWh in their first year of clean electricity generation.

FreezPak also has facilities under construction in Miami and Woodbridge, New Jersey. A third Freezpak location in Woodbridge, NJ, projected to open in the fourth quarter of 2022, will also host a new rooftop solar energy system in partnership with Greenskies and Vanguard.

Vanguard delivered the job on schedule, overcoming pandemic-related supply chain and logistical delays to successfully meet the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) TREC (Transitional Renewable Energy Certificate) deadline.