Amazon has installed Colorado’s largest single rooftop solar-power array at its 855,000-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Thornton.
Gov. Jared Polis joined local elected officials and community leaders Thursday for the facility’s grand opening and to see the 17,280-panel array that spans 19 acres on the roof of the four-story building. The system, with a capacity to generate 6.05 megawatts of power, is expected to begin producing electricity in November.
In 2017, Amazon announced its goal of installing rooftop solar-energy systems at 50 fulfillment centers by 2020. Amazon said in a statement that it realized the goal in July, 18 months early, with the completion of its 50th project for total of 98 megawatts of capacity. Thirty-two systems are in the U.S.; 12 are in the European Union; and seven are in India.
“Amazon is excited to be a part of the Thornton community and proud of our new fulfillment center, which is equipped with energy efficient technologies,” Joe Dudek, Amazon general manager, said in a news release. “This building features LED lighting, advanced building management systems, variable frequency drive equipped motors, high efficiency heating and cooling systems, and remote energy and power monitoring.”
More than 1,500 employees work alongside Amazon robotics at the Thornton center to pick, pack and ship smaller customer items, such as books, toys and kitchenware.
Amazon said it has invested more than $1.5 billion in Colorado since 2017 through its customer fulfillment infrastructure and compensation to its teams.
