Glen Raven Installs Solar Array At Sunbrella Facility, Unveils Recycled-Content Fabric
Glen Raven Inc., Glen Raven, N.C., is building a solar array atop its Sunbrella® Yarn Manufacturing
Center in Norlina, N.C., with support from Progress Energy's SunSense® Commercial Solar PV program.
According to the company, the $3 million, 500-kilowatt installation will be the largest solar array
installed under the program — which offers premium prices for solar power from installations on
commercial roofs as part of its initiative to promote renewable energy development — and will
generate enough electricity to power approximately 47 typical homes for a year.
The project, scheduled for completion this fall, also entails installing a new 175,000-square-foot, highly reflective white roof to replace the facility's existing roof. The new roof will improve the function of the solar panels, which feature state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) technology, and it will serve as well to enhance the facility's interior cooling system. Progress Energy has committed to purchase power generated from the array to provide to other customers, and Glen Raven has also received federal and state tax credits as incentives to proceed with the project.
Owen E. Gupton Roofing Inc., Henderson, N.C., is installing the new roof, and Charlotte-based Argand Energy Solutions is installing the PV panels and related controls.
"While conventional solar panels only capture light directly from the sun, the photovoltaic panels we are installing at Norlina Plant are an open grid design, which processes solar energy from 360 degrees, which greatly increases their energy generation capacity," said John Gant, manager of sustainable development, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics.
"This project at Norlina Plant is just one of many sustainability initiatives throughout Glen Raven," said Glen Raven President Allen E. Gant Jr. "We are reducing energy consumption and increasing recycling at all of our facilities."
The company's recycling initiatives include the introduction of Heritage — a line of Sunbrella furniture fabrics that have 50-percent post-industrial recycled content, and the newest line in the Sunbrella Renaissance Collection of recycled products. Recycled-content sources include cutting-room waste from certain Sunbrella customers and fiber, yarn and fabric waste generated at the Sunbrella manufacturing plant in Anderson, S.C. The waste is separated into color groups, reprocessed back into fiber and mixed with Sunbrella virgin fiber for remanufacturing into yarn and fabric. The fabrics are available in 12 neutral colors ranging from light brown to rich earth shades, and have a homespun look, according to Glen Raven.
June 7, 2011
The project, scheduled for completion this fall, also entails installing a new 175,000-square-foot, highly reflective white roof to replace the facility's existing roof. The new roof will improve the function of the solar panels, which feature state-of-the-art photovoltaic (PV) technology, and it will serve as well to enhance the facility's interior cooling system. Progress Energy has committed to purchase power generated from the array to provide to other customers, and Glen Raven has also received federal and state tax credits as incentives to proceed with the project.
Owen E. Gupton Roofing Inc., Henderson, N.C., is installing the new roof, and Charlotte-based Argand Energy Solutions is installing the PV panels and related controls.
"While conventional solar panels only capture light directly from the sun, the photovoltaic panels we are installing at Norlina Plant are an open grid design, which processes solar energy from 360 degrees, which greatly increases their energy generation capacity," said John Gant, manager of sustainable development, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics.
"This project at Norlina Plant is just one of many sustainability initiatives throughout Glen Raven," said Glen Raven President Allen E. Gant Jr. "We are reducing energy consumption and increasing recycling at all of our facilities."
The company's recycling initiatives include the introduction of Heritage — a line of Sunbrella furniture fabrics that have 50-percent post-industrial recycled content, and the newest line in the Sunbrella Renaissance Collection of recycled products. Recycled-content sources include cutting-room waste from certain Sunbrella customers and fiber, yarn and fabric waste generated at the Sunbrella manufacturing plant in Anderson, S.C. The waste is separated into color groups, reprocessed back into fiber and mixed with Sunbrella virgin fiber for remanufacturing into yarn and fabric. The fabrics are available in 12 neutral colors ranging from light brown to rich earth shades, and have a homespun look, according to Glen Raven.
June 7, 2011
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