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City Furniture Secures 500kW of Solar Power in FPL’s New SolarTogether Initiative

Furniture World News Desk on 4/22/2020


Pursuing its goal of running 100 percent carbon neutral operations by 2040, City Furniture announced that it has become one of the first furniture retailers to subscribe to Florida Power & Light’s massive new Solar Together program, which is designed to create 20 new solar power plants by mid-2021.

By subscribing for 500 kilowatts (kW) of solar power through SolarTogether, City Furniture ensures production of solar energy equal to about 5 percent of the national furniture retailer’s annual kilowatt needs.

“Based on the amount of solar energy our subscription will create, we are offsetting enough energy use to power three showrooms 100 percent off the grid and running on energy from the sun,” according to City Furniture President Andrew Koenig. “SolarTogether is a major innovation for creating large-scale community solar,” he added. “It’s great for the environment, and it gives businesses a boost toward their sustainability goals, with strong return on investment.”

Approved by Florida’s Public Service Commission in March, the commercial, industrial and governmental portion of FPL’s SolarTogether program is fully subscribed. The program takes a fresh approach by giving customers an option to cost effectively support the growth of solar energy in Florida, while receiving monthly credits on their FPL bill. By mid 2021, SolarTogether is expected to include addition of 20 new solar power plants, totaling 1,490 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. Subscribers choose the amount of energy they want to offset by helping create solar, pay a monthly subscription cost based on a fixed subscription rate, and receive credits on their FPL bills. Those credits increase over time, producing payback on the subscriber’s investment.

 “Florida needs bold ideas and major strides to speed renewable energy’s growth,” said Koenig. “The overwhelming response to SolarTogether shows that businesses recognize the time is now to create a sustainable future.”

 Joining the FPL initiative is City Furniture’s latest step toward fulfilling its 2040 Green Promise to have fully carbon-neutral operations. The company is now running 100 percent of its truck delivery fleet on compressed natural gas (CNG), and has five Tesla Semi all-electric trucks on order. In addition:

  • Facilities include an industry-leading eight LEED-certified “green” showrooms. Energy-efficient strategies with LED lighting, HVAC, etc. are saving 7.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, eliminating 11.2 million pounds of CO2 from being released.

  • City Furniture now recycles 98 percent of waste at its own recycling center, which keeps 6 million pounds of waste out of landfills. The company recycled 5.5 million pounds of cardboard in 2019, and recycled 500,000 pounds of plastic to be repurposed into goods.

  • The company has expanded offerings of eco-friendly home furnishings, such as the recently introduced Seattle line made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified, 100 percent reclaimed wood, and Oeko-Tex® certified, private label sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers manufactured with regard for the environment. 

 

About City Furniture: City Furniture operates 20 showrooms from Miami through Vero Beach, and in southwest and central Florida, as well as 13 Ashley HomeStore showrooms as the brand’s Southeast and Southwest Florida licensee. For information: www.cityfurniture.com.