Frito-Lay recently announced that the company, a division of Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, has installed a solar electric power system on the roof of its Arizona Service Center, the company's largest U.S. distribution center. The 201-kilowatt system consists of more than 1,000 Kyocera high output 200-watt photovoltaic (PV) modules, making it the largest business-owned PV system in Arizona.

The system will produce roughly 350,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, and will supply power directly to Frito-Lay's electrical loads to meet a portion of the facility's daytime energy needs.

The installation was facilitated, in part, by the Arizona utility APS' Solar Partners Incentive Program, which provides financial incentives to customers who add photovoltaic solar systems or solar water heaters to their homes or business.

The system was designed and installed by American Solar Electric, Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm specializing in photovoltaic power systems. The PV system was engineered to produce year-round energy production through elevated, angled panels above the rooftop deck.

Frito-Lay already has installed PV systems in six other distribution centers in California and New York.