Nashville factory to become first solar-powered facility for Husqvarna Group
Husqvarna Group is building its first solar power generating facility at its current injection-molding site in Nashville, Ark. The new facility is expected to reduce the carbon footprint by approximately 1,000 tons in the first year of operation and approximately 25,000 tons over the expected 25-year life of the facility.
The new solar power generation plant has a capacity of 1.3 megawatts (1.3 million watts) of solar power, allowing Husqvarna Group to increase its share of electricity from renewable sources of energy, and thereby reduce greenhouse gases and other emissions that incur from electricity generated by coal.
“At Husqvarna Group, we are serious about contributing to a low-carbon future and a more sustainable society,” said Valentin Dahlhaus, SVP group operations of Husqvarna Group. “Sustainovate is our approach to integrating sustainability into our business. Earlier this year, we committed to reduce our CO2 emissions by a third by 2035 compared to 2015. This onsite solar power installation will generate about 25 percent of the annual power required by the Nashville facility. The Nashville initiative is an important example of how we’re putting Sustainovate into action.”
The construction will begin in the third quarter of 2017, and is projected to be operational by the end of the year. The solar generating system is scalable and has the potential to be expanded in the future.
Rooted in its passion for innovation and connecting people with nature, Sustainovate is Husqvarna Group’s strategic approach to integrating sustainability into its business. Founded on five key challenges — Carbon challenge, Team challenge, Supplier challenge, Safety challenge and Community challenge — Sustainovate includes ambitious group-wide targets that will drive company performance to 2020 and beyond.
