Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies (RTX), has entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with ENGIE Distributed Solar and Storage for the development and operation of a 6.5-acre solar farm located at the Collins Aerospace Plant 6 site on Harrison Avenue in Rockford, Illinois. Under the terms of the agreement, Collins Aerospace will pay ENGIE for the electricity generated by the solar project, while ENGIE will retain the renewable electricity certificates. To compensate for this, Collins Aerospace will purchase replacement certificates from other qualified renewable projects.
Steve Kotso, the Executive Director of Electric Power Systems at Collins Aerospace, highlighted the company’s commitment to sustainability, emphasizing their focus not only on developing greener products for customers but also on enhancing the environmental friendliness of their own manufacturing operations. The Rockford site is a prime example of this commitment. Collins Aerospace’s Rockford facility, known as Plant 6, plays a dual role in advancing sustainability. On one front, it is home to The Grid, a cutting-edge $50 million laboratory where Collins Aerospace is pioneering hybrid-electric propulsion systems for future aircraft, aiming to reduce emissions. On another front, the company is installing a solar farm at the site to provide approximately 10% of Plant 6’s annual electricity requirements.
Construction of the solar farm is expected to commence in the spring of the coming year, with a target completion date in 2024. Currently, Collins Aerospace boasts solar arrays at 15 different sites across the globe, collectively averting over 3,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The new solar project in Rockford, Illinois, is projected to further contribute to the company’s sustainability objectives, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.