SolarCity and Bayer Healthcare has announced a 1,000-panel solar installation - the largest in the city of Berkeley[1] - to help power Bayer's manufacturing facilities here. The project was financed, designed, and installed by SolarCity, which will also provide ongoing maintenance and monitoring as part of its standard agreement.

For Bayer, the 295-kilowatt project offers a tangible example of the company's commitment to healthy communities, as well as a concrete step to further its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

Over the next twenty years, the system will help Bayer avoid emitting more than 10 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to taking nearly 900 cars off the road.

"Bayer Berkeley Sustainability Council is continually exploring viable technologies to reduce its carbon footprint in the Berkeley community, and solar electricity has proven to be a valuable asset," said Ron Roberts, Principal Engineer at Bayer Healthcare.

"Our employees will also benefit from the creative installation of the panels: Rather than locate them on the roof, we chose integration of solar panels into a car canopy system that provides an added benefit of shade for employee vehicles."

The Bayer project is SolarCity's largest commercial project in the city of Berkeley, where one of SolarCity's 25 locations employs nearly 50 installers, project designers, and warehouse managers.

SolarCity offers the business community direct reductions in fossil fuel energy use that are more difficult to address in other aspects of global business, such as transportation. The shaded carport upon which the Bayer Healthcare panels are installed also illustrates the creative solutions available when on-location SolarCity project managers determine that optimal solar performance requires alternatives to rooftop installation.

"SolarCity has seen time and again how the world's leading brands can meet a variety of goals by using clean energy powered by the sun," said Toby Corey, SolarCity Chief Revenue Officer.

"With this project, Bayer Healthcare is demonstrating market leadership by advancing an internal sustainability goal while doing its part to improve air quality in the local community."

[1] According to the California Solar Initiative Database