Alyssa Danigelis reports for Energy Manager Today
Bank of America is installing onsite solar at more than 60 locations across the country, including financial centers, ATMs, and offices. The investment bank and financial services company expects that their onsite solar initiative will generate more than 25 megawatts of electricity.
Six financial centers located in California, Florida, and Pennsylvania as well as and two office locations in Nevada and North Carolina already have onsite solar installations. In 2019, the bank plans to install solar panels at 15 financial centers and on 10 ATMs. Over the next three years, the company says it expects to add more than 60 solar installations across their operations.
“The onsite solar initiative is a critical component that will directly offset the bank’s energy use and lower energy costs, resulting in an estimated savings of $50 million over 25 years,” says Tom Scrivener, global real estate and enterprise initiatives executive at Bank of America.
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In 2018, the company says its total sourcing of renewable electricity was 1.8 million megawatt hours, amounting to 91% of its global energy use. Last November, the bank formed a partnership with Juhl Energy to support a solar hybrid project in Minnesota.
This year, the bank’s onsite solar initiative is focusing on installing panels at locations in these states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. In 2020 and 2021, Bank of America plans to install panels on select administrative offices in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas.
Bank of America, which is a member of RE100, indicated that increased onsite solar should help the company meet its broader operations commitment to carbon neutrality and purchasing 100% renewable electricity by the end of 2020, plus reducing location-based GHG emissions by 50% and energy use by 40% during the same time-frame.
“Having solar energy onsite to power our facilities is part of our responsible growth strategy and reduces our operational impact on the environment,” said Andrew Plepler, Bank of America’s global head of ESG.
