March 14 (SeeNews) - Kaufland Bulgaria said on Tuesday that it commissioned two rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with a peak capacity of 420 kW combined, bringing to six the total number of such installations at its hypermarkets.
The two PV installations are located at hypermarkets in Sofia and in the southern town of Petrich, Kaufland Bulgaria, part of German retail chain Kaufland, said in a press release. The combined capacity of the two arrays equals the electrical power of a medium-sized store of the retail chain.
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Three more rooftop solar systems are planned to be commissioned at local hypermarkets as part of the company's strategy to increase energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint, Kaufland Bulgaria added without providing further details.
"Each new photovoltaic installation saves nearly 110 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year and reduces the annual electricity consumption of the hypermarket by about 20%," Kaufland Bulgaria energy manager Ivo Vasilev said. He added that each year, the retailer cuts down its energy consumption by an average 2%, partly by installing new LED and refrigeration equipment at stores.
Last month, Kaufland Bulgaria said that the planned solar arrays, nine by year-end, will each meet about a fifth of the annual electricity needs of the hypermarket on which they will be mounted.
Kaufland Bulgaria, which generates an annual turnover of some 1.9 billion levs ($1.04 billion/971,455 euro), has 63 hypermarkets in 35 cities in the country, including 13 sites in Sofia.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)