WEST MIDDLESEX, PA - On June 6, Estes Express Lines officially completed the fourth solar-power system installation within its nationwide terminal network with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held in West Middlesex, PA. Event attendees at Estes’ 162-door facility included executives from Dynamic Energy, Penn Power/FirstEnergy, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Hermitage, PA. Estes’ latest clean-energy initiative was facilitated by a grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA). Dynamic Energy submitted the grant application for Estes, which was one of 27 selected for review. The resulting West Middlesex project involved 2,150 roof-mounted panels and represents one of the largest such solar arrays in western Pennsylvania.  “The Pennsylvania Solar Future Program, Pennsylvania Power, the Town of West Middlesex and Estes all collaborated to see a successful project completed,” said Dynamic Energy CEO Mike Perillo. “The asset will produce value for Estes and the community for decades to come.”  According to Joe Ziadeh, Estes’ construction and facility maintenance project manager, the system is expected to produce 777,400 kWh of power each year. This, along with an upcoming upgrade to energy-efficient LED lighting, will account for more than 90% of the West Middlesex terminal’s annual consumption.  The system’s annual output translates to the following carbon-emissions equivalents:
  • 46,924 gallons of diesel fuel
  • 88 homes powered for one year
  • 15,548 trees cleansing the air for one year
“Selecting clean solar power for our West Middlesex terminal further demonstrates Estes’ good stewardship of the environment,” Ziadeh said. “Estes was one of the first trucking companies to join the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, and this solar project is another step in our sustainability efforts.” “We greatly appreciate Dynamic Energy’s expertise with installing our system, and we are pleased to work with PEDA to generate clean, advanced energy within Pennsylvania,” added President and CEO Rob Estes. “Our selection from among such a strong pool of grant applicants says a lot about the long-term viability of this and similar future projects.”