LEESPORT, Pa. -- Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. has committed to a multi-phase effort to reduce the company’s energy consumption. The 28,776 roof-mounted solar panels on Ashley’s Leesport, Pennsylvania, manufacturing and distribution location will soon produce more than 9,630,600 kWh of electricity per year.

This is roughly equivalent to the amount of power consumed by 786 average American households in a year. Few rooftop solar systems of this magnitude exist in the United States.

According to solar PV installation records tracked by SEIA, the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry, the project is the largest rooftop solar energy system in the state of Pennsylvania and ranks amongst the largest commercial rooftop solar installations in the nation.

The facility’s current annual electrical energy consumption exceeds 10 million kWh (kilowatt hours). Solar is expected to offset 90 percent of the facility’s electrical energy needs.

“The solar panel project we have at Ashley is just one more example of Ashley’s sustainability efforts for our global marketplace and local communities,” said Todd Wanek, President and CEO, of Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. “Besides reducing our company’s energy footprint, we’re also able to save on energy costs which, in turn, can be passed along to our customers.”

Ashley partnered with SunPeak, a leading developer in the solar industry, to design and install the solar systems. In addition to the Leesport facility, rooftop solar systems have been constructed and commissioned on two other Ashley distribution and retail centers in Romeoville, Illinois, and Lathrop, California. Mobilization has started on the next two facilities in Redlands and Colton, California. See http://www.ashleyfurnitureindustriesinc.com