FedEx Installs 904-Kilowatt Solar Power System

August 17, 2005

A photo of a flat array of blue solar panels on a roof, with FedEx planes visible in the background.

Two roofs at the FedEx hub facility in Oakland, California, are now covered in solar panels.
Credit: FedEx

FedEx began operating California's largest corporate solar power installation on August 9th. The 904-kilowatt system provides 80 percent of the energy required by the FedEx hub at Oakland International Airport. During periods when the energy generated by the system is greater than the facility's needs, the surplus energy will be transferred into the grid for general use. Berkeley-based PowerLight Corporation designed and built the system. To power the facility, FedEx Express flew more than 300,000 Sharp solar cells from Japan to a Sharp facility in Memphis, where they were installed into 5,769 photovoltaic modules that convert sunlight directly into electricity. The system encompasses the entire 81,000 square foot area of roof across the facility's two buildings. See the FedEx press release.