News

October 20, 2009

Chipotle Finds More Than Fun in Sun

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to install solar panels on rooftops of about 75 restaurants within the next year. The chain says the project will make it the restaurant industry's largest producer of solar-generated electricity.

The company says it will determine which restaurants will receive the solar panels, based on their exposure to sunshine, the availability of local solar-energy rebates and how much electricity they use. Some Chipotle stores in San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Denver have solar panels.

The panels will generate about 500 kilowatt hours of electricity — enough to cut the carbon emissions of the restaurants' current power sources by 41 million pounds a year, Chipotle said. Output would be highest from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., when electricity demand is at its peak, according to the company.

Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells said the initiative was consistent with the fast-casual chain's efforts to use sustainable ingredients in its kitchens.

"That same kind of thinking now influences all areas of our business," he said. "Today, we're following a similar path in the way we design and build restaurants, looking for more environmentally friendly building materials and systems that make our restaurants more efficient."

A Chipotle in Gurnee, Ill., is believed to be the first restaurant to win platinum-level LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Among the restaurant's conservation features is a wind turbine that generates more than 10 percent of the unit's electricity.

Chipotle operates about 900 restaurants.