After a number of rooftop fires between 2020-2021, Amazon briefly took all photo voltaic panels offline to finish inspections of every of its programs. The e-commerce big did so quietly with out mentioning the issues in its sustainability report.
The primary reported photo voltaic panel fireplace at an Amazon warehouse occurred on April 14, 2020, in Fresno, California, CNBC reported. The warehouse was known as FAT1, and the three-alarm fireplace broken about 220 photo voltaic panels together with different tools.
In a report, Fresno fireplace investigator Leland Wilding wrote the blaze began from “an undetermined electrical occasion throughout the photo voltaic system mounted on high of the roof,” CNBC reported.
The final reported fireplace passed off barely greater than a 12 months later in Perryville, Maryland. The June 2021 fireplace at an Amazon warehouse took roughly 60 volunteer firefighters about 80 minutes to extinguish, the Kent County News reported.
By the point firefighters managed the two-alarm fireplace, it had triggered about $500,000 in harm to the Perryville Amazon facility.
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As soon as once more, investigators stated the reason for the hearth was “an unspecified occasion involving the photo voltaic panel system.”
In accordance with paperwork obtained by CNBC, at the least 4 different photo voltaic panel fireplace passed off between April 2020 – June 2021. The outlet stated Amazon had by no means publicized the paperwork.
Of the 47 Amazon websites in North America with any form of solar set up, at the least six noticed “important fireplace or arc flash occasions” in that timeframe. Because of this {the electrical} fires or explosions occurred at 12.7 % of the services.
“The speed of harmful incidents is unacceptable, and above trade averages,” an worker wrote in one of many inside experiences in line with CNBC.
The frequent fires led Amazon to briefly take all of its photo voltaic panels in the USA offline to assessment the programs.
The corporate decided it might not “re-energize” any of its solar energy programs till critiques had decided they have been accurately designed, put in and maintained.
Amazon spokeswoman Erika Howard confirmed the corporate took this step, and she or he stated the corporate did so voluntarily.
“Out of an abundance of warning, following a small variety of remoted incidents with onsite photo voltaic programs owned and operated by third events, Amazon proactively powered off our onsite photo voltaic installations in North America, and took instant steps to re-inspect every set up by a number one photo voltaic technical skilled agency,” she informed CNBC in an announcement.
But when Amazon issued its intensive 2021 sustainability report, it failed to say any shutdown of solar energy programs, non permanent or in any other case.
As a substitute, it boasted about the advantages of solar energy for plenty of its services.
“Lots of our success services all through the U.S., Europe, and India are powered by on-site photo voltaic, the place a rooftop set up can energy as much as 80 % of the ability’s power use,” the report stated. “As of 2021, 115 of our world success services have rooftop photo voltaic installations.”
Amazon solely talked about the potential advantages of solar energy programs for its services, and it overlooked any point out of the dangers it had skilled firsthand.
Howard informed CNBC the photo voltaic power installations have been being powered again on after the completion of inspections.
“Amazon additionally constructed a group of devoted photo voltaic consultants overseeing the development, operations, and upkeep of our programs in-house to make sure the protection of our programs,” she stated.
In one other inside doc obtained by CNBC, an Amazon worker stated the hearth incidents stemming from photo voltaic panels value the corporate a median of $2.7 million every.
As well as, the worker stated Amazon would lose $20,000 per 30 days for every of the 47 websites that took its photo voltaic installations offline. Once more, this data was left off the 2021 sustainability report.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged in 2019 that the corporate would attain web zero emissions by 2040, CNBC reported. The so-called “Local weather Pledge” was one of the aggressive sustainability plans within the nation.
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.
