McCormick & Company generates more electricity than it uses

Constellation Energy

McCormick & Company generates more electricity than it uses

Greentech Lead America: McCormick & Company and
Constellation Energy, a unit of Exelon, announced that McCormick’s
363,000-square-foot distribution center in Belcamp, Md., generates more
electricity than it uses.

The center is a net-zero energy building. It produces
more electricity than it consumes from the grid.

For McCormick’s Belcamp facility, this significant
progress was achieved through energy conservation measures implemented by
McCormick and the installation of a 1.8-megawatt rooftop solar power system
from Constellation Energy in 2011.

Constellation Energy currently owns and operates more
than 100 MW of solar installations that have been completed or are under
construction for commercial and government customers throughout the United
States.

During a five-year period McCormick reduced electricity
use at Belcamp by 55 percent through energy efficient interior and exterior
lighting, occupancy sensors, HVAC upgrades, and energy efficient pallet
conveyors.

“With the addition of hosting solar power, the facility
generated a surplus of more than 16,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a one-year
period. McCormick’s Belcamp distribution center reinforces that net-zero energy
use is achievable and affordable for large commercial buildings,” said Jeff
Blankman, sustainable manufacturing manager for McCormick.

Constellation Energy builds, owns and maintains the solar
power system at the Belcamp facility as well as a nearly 1 MW solar
installation at McCormick’s Spice Mill in Hunt Valley, Md., and a smaller solar
installation at McCormick’s corporate headquarters building in Sparks, Md.

McCormick purchases all of the electricity generated by
the solar panels at less than current market rates under separate 20-year power
purchase agreements.

“Through conservation measures, which are essential to
any effective energy management strategy, businesses can realize further
savings. In many cases, Constellation can offer its customers the ability to
bundle the costs of energy efficiency upgrades with their electricity spend,
allowing them to leverage existing operational budgets for needed capital improvements,”
said Michael D. Smith, vice president of solar and efficiency sales for
Constellation Energy.

[email protected]