
The company said that in 2009 its global operations generated 328 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per megawatt of solar cells produced. It said there was a 10 per cent decrease between 2008 and 2009 due to “improved solar cell efficiency, increased economies of scale and other investments.â€
SunPower has listed 23 measures it is taking to further reduce carbon emission intensity, including steps to improve lighting, air conditioning and equipment efficiencies at the company’s manufacturing plants.
“SunPower’s investment in research and development to improve our high-efficiency solar panel and systems technology has substantially reduced our carbon intensity since we began manufacturing in 2004,” said SunPower CEO Tom Werner.
SunPower claims that the greenhouse emissions avoided by their customers are larger than the greenhouse gases generated during manufacturing and delivery of panels.