Renewable Energy Powers SEE Manufacturing Facility

Originally published in SEE's Global Impact Report

At SEE’s manufacturing facility in Madera, CA the machines that turn resin pellets into the company’s famous BUBBLE WRAP® brand original cushioning are now powered by a solar farm situated on 11 acres of company-owned land directly adjacent to the plant.

The 8,975 solar panels, along with a battery storage system, power 98% of the electricity used at the manufacturing facility and produce more than seven gigawatt-hours of energy per year.

SEE^® (formerly Sealed Air) partnered with TotalEnergies (formerly SunPower) to develop the 3.5 megawatt ground mount solar project paired with a 770 kilowatt/3,080 kilowatt-hour battery storage system. The project will help reduce SEE’s energy spend by $1 million annually.

Beneath the solar panels, gravel was used instead of turfgrass to conserve water, which is especially important in a state fighting drought conditions.

The solar farm contributes to SEE’s sustainability goals by advancing renewable energy, lessening the energy intensity of operations, and reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions. As a clean energy source, the solar project will avoid 3,465 metric tons of carbon dioxide in its first year* and 50,160 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 15 years.

*CO2 equivalencies based on EPA AVERT 2020 California regional distributed PV avoided CO2 rate

Read SEE's Global Impact Report here.

Learn more about SEE's ESG efforts here.