Fry’s testing solar shades in grocery’s parking lot

A Fry’s Food Stores location in north Phoenix has installed solar shades over the parking lot as part of a one-year pilot program.

Company officials want to determine how much energy they can save with the structures and whether customers like them.

Customers at the store at 2727 W. Bell Road now will find shaded parking and better-lighted nighttime parking. The system covers 1.7 acres and is expected to generate1,013 kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, according to the company.

“We pride ourselves on providing the best possible experience for our customers inside every Fry’s Food Store,” Fry’s President Steve McKinney said. “Now, we have found a way to provide a better experience outside our store. Plus, it increases our green efforts, which help to make our community a better place to live now and in the future.”

The store is using PowerParasol technology, created by Strategic Solar. Three locations at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus already use PowerParasol.

Fry’s is not the first grocery store in the Valley to venture into the use of solar power. Some Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Marketshad solar-energy systems installed on their rooftops. Fry’s has 119 stores in Arizona, 92in Maricopa County. Spokeswoman Jo Ellen Lynn said the company selected the Bell Road store for the pilot for a variety of reasons.

The north Phoenix Fry’s store is large, 110,783 square feet, and has high traffic, she said. It also was recently renovated.