Commercial, Solar  -  August 31, 2020

Yakima Chief Hops completes largest WA solar installation

Yakima Chief Hops announced Aug. 31 their newest 3,706-panel solar installation, which became the largest rooftop solar array in Washington state.

The farmer-owned hop supplier installed the array across six buildings and 70,000 square feet at their Yakima, Wash., headquarters, an area known as the “hop capital of the world” due to its abundance of hop farms that supply the brewery industry. The solar project is expected to produce 1.4 million kWh of electricity annually, which will allow YCH to cover 15% of their electricity demand and offset their annual emissions by 1,000 metric tons.

"At YCH, we aim to make more of an impact by making less of one," Levi Wyatt, Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator at YCH, said in a statement. "Our operations utilize a significant amount of energy and we are committed to finding ways to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels and finite resources. We also believe in using our business to inspire and influence environmental solutions."

YCH partnered with Ellensburg Solar on the project. Additionally, the company is working with local energy suppliers to conduct an energy management assessment.