World-famous crayon maker Crayola signed a power purchase agreement to have a 15-acre solar park built on land adjacent to its world headquarters in Forks Township, Pennsylvania. More than 26,000 photovoltaic panels will eventually cover the site, producing 1.5 megawatts of solar electricity, about 10 percent of the crayon-churning plant’s electrical load.

Photo Credit: Orange Blog

PPL Corporation of Allentown and UGI Energy Services Inc. of Reading are Crayola’s partners in the deal. As signed, PPL and UGI will lease the 15 acres from Crayola and design, build, operate and maintain the facility. Crayola has agreed to purchase all power provided by the solar park. A portion of the plant should be up and producing electricity early in 2010, with the full 1.5 MW to follow over the next few years. Once fully online, the park will produce enough solar energy to make 1 billion crayons per year.

The new solar park is part of an ongoing effort by Crayola to lessen its carbon footprint. Putting all solar panels aside, the company has managed in the last 10 years to reduce its natural gas usage by 19 percent, electricity usage by 11 percent and reduced waste by 40 percent. Crayola recycles roughly 70 percent of its potential waste.

The solar park is funded in part by $1.5 million of stimulus act funding awarded to the project by the state of Pennsylvania. Crayola is also adding a solar educational display at The Crayola Factory in downtown Easton, Pennsylvania, an attraction that lures about 300,000 visitors per year.

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Posted on September 14th in Solar News by Dan.