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75 restaurants to get rooftop solar panels in coming year
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Chipotle Mexican Grill is partnering with Standard Renewable Energy (SRE) to install solar panels at 75 of its restaurants over the next year. Chipotle says the rooftop panels will produce 500 kilowatt hours of electricity, making it the largest direct producer of solar energy in the restaurant industry.
“Our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast food began with our commitment to serving food made with ingredients from more sustainable sources, and that same kind of thinking now influences all areas of our business,” said Steve Ells, Chipotle's founder, chairman and co-ceo Chipotle. “Today, we're following a similar path in the way we design and build restaurants, looking for more environmentally friendly building materials and systems that make our restaurants more efficient.”
Solar panel installations are underway in several cities, including Denver, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio. Markets and restaurants where solar may be used is based on a formula that includes a restaurant's electricity consumption, local utility solar rebates, and its access to direct sunlight.
The intent of Chipotle's solar initiative is to reduce the restaurants' traditional energy consumption during peak hours for energy use (from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), when pressure on the energy grid is greatest. The amount of power produced through the solar program will eliminate more than 41 million pounds of CO2 emissions.
In addition to the solar-panel initiative, Chipotle's new-build restaurants feature eco-friendly materials and systems, including low VOC paints and sealants, recycled drywall and stainless steel, photocell light controls that regulate electric lighting based on availability of natural lighting, or low-E window glass that helps reduce heating and cooling needs.
Chipotle also has the first restaurant ever to receive Platinum level LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The company's unit in Gurnee, Ill., features an on-site wind turbine and an underground cistern to harvest rainwater for irrigation. Chipotle also has a LEED certified restaurant in Long Island, N.Y., and a third restaurant that is pending certification in Minneapolis.
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