Solar powered coffee! OHenry’s Coffees teams up with Vulcan Solar Power

In two weeks, when you drop by the local OHenry’s Coffees shop, and buy yourself a steaming winter treat, you will be drinking one of the first cups of “solar powered coffee” in Alabama.

Yesterday, OHenry’s Coffees and Vulcan Solar Power released a joint press release announcing the installation of the first solar power system for a coffee roasting facility in Alabama.

From the joint press release:

Birmingham based OHenry’s Coffees has selected Vulcan Solar Power, another Birmingham company, to install a 15 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system at its roasting facility in West Homewood. The installation is scheduled to begin on December 7, 2016 and is expected to be fully operational within 2 weeks.

OHenry’s owner, Randy Adamy, stated, “It was surprising to us that our roof just happened to be facing in the perfect direction and at the right angle for solar panels. We are excited to be able to be more ecofriendly to the community that we have called home for over 23 years.”

Adamy further added that “doing business with local Birmingham companies has always been important to us, and Vulcan Solar was a perfect fit.”

The solar energy system is just another step OHenry’s has taken towards sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship. In addition to offering Fair Trade, Organic, and Shade Grown coffee and being the first company to purchase entire crops of coffee from small farmers in Colombia, OHenry’s can now claim to be the first coffee company in Alabama that uses solar energy to roast its coffee. But economics also played a big role in OHenry’s decision to install a solar energy system. “I also decided to install a solar energy system to make use of available technology to help run OHenry’s more effectively,” said Adamy.

To that end, the system will save OHenry’s approximately $2,000 in the first year alone and is projected to pay for itself in less than 5 years.

“We are excited to partner with OHenry’s and help it meet its renewable energy goals while also generating a strong return on investment and reducing the company’s operating costs for the next 30+years,” said Rob Ozols, CEO of Vulcan Solar.

The OHenry’s Coffees facility roasts over 100,000 pounds of coffee a year.  Vulcan Solar Power has been in business less than a year, but has already installed the first solar energy system in Homewood and the largest solar energy installation in the greater Birmingham area at the UAB Campus Recreation Center.

Over the next two weeks, Bham Now will following Vulcan Solar’s installation of the solar energy system at OHenry’s.

Meanwhile, just after Christmas, visit your local OHenry’s and be the first in your community to purchase a first “solar powered” cup of coffee.