Hertz, a large airport car rental brand, and Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company announce the completion of two solar power installations at Hertz Rent-a-Car facilities at Denver International and St. Louis International Airports. Additionally, solar installations are underway at Hertz’s Newark Liberty International Airport, to be completed later this year, and construction at Hertz’s John F. Kennedy Airport location is planned to start in 2015. Once completed, the total installed solar capacity at the four Hertz airport locations will reach 1 megawatt of clean energy which will used to power Hertz customer service areas and other nearby Hertz buildings.
“Hertz has a long standing goal regarding sustainable business practices and these new solar installations play an integral part in fulfilling that commitment,” said Todd Poste, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Management for Hertz. “With Hertz’s latest solar expansion, we will increase our renewable energy generation while continuing to reduce costs companywide.”
The four new solar installations include:
- Denver International Airport: The 262-kilowatt solar panels generating approximately 335,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year in operation, equivalent to the amount of energy used by about 33 homes over 12 months.
- Saint Louis Airport: The 152-kilowatt solar system is designed to generate 187,000 kilowatt hours of energy in its first 12 months of operation.
- Newark Liberty International Airport: The 299-kilowatt photovoltaic system is expected to generate about 331,000 kilowatt hours in its first year in operation.
- JFK International Airport: The 318-kilowatt solar installation is planned to generate 396,000 kilowatt hours of power in its first year.
“Significant solar projects have financial and structural complexity, but sustainable leaders such as Hertz understand they pay off in cost savings, and with a carport solar canopy provide a strong visual sign of the company’s commitment to clean energy,” said Panasonic’s Eco Solutions Managing Director Jamie Evans.
Environmental sustainability, Hertz’s Living Journey, is integrated throughout the Company, from its car washes to the way its rental locations are built. Hertz is committed to its sustainability efforts – both from a fleet and operations perspective – and prides itself as a market leader in sustainable transport and operations. As Hertz redesigns its facilities, the company is introducing specific sustainable construction and design highlights, including LEED certification at select sites, the use of LED and energy efficient lighting, solar power systems and solar outdoor lighting at select sites, post-consumer recycled content materials and finishes, water saving fixtures and zero-VOC paints. Hertz is also rolling out a national single-stream recycling program in addition to current recycling efforts around automotive waste oils and tires. Other Hertz Living Journey outcomes include production of 2.5M kWh of solar energy annually and sustainable mobility solutions. More than 75% of the company’s fleet averages 28+ MPGs and the Green Traveler Collection offers a variety of alternate fuel vehicles, including Electric Vehicles, Clean Diesels, Compressed Natural Gas vehicles and hybrids.