Yakima Chief Hops (YCH), a 100% farmer-owned hop supplier for the brewing industry, has announced its latest solar panel installation for 3,706 solar panels, the largest rooftop solar array in Washington state.

While YCH has offices located across the globe, the company’s headquarters are based in Yakima, Washington, known as the hop capital of the world. Surrounded by hop fields of local family farms, YCH has multiple facilities across the valley.

YCH’s solar array spans across six buildings, covering 70,000 square feet with 3,706 solar panels and producing 1,414,766 kWh of electricity annually. YCH can capture 15% of their entire electricity demand and offset its annual emissions by 1,000 Metric tons, equivalent to providing 170 homes with electricity for one year.

“At YCH, we aim to make more of an impact by making less of one. Our operations utilize a significant amount of energy and we are committed to finding ways to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels and finite resources. We also believe in using our business to inspire and influence environmental solutions.”
Levi Wyatt, Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator at YCH.

YCH partnered with Ellensburg Solar to complete the installation of the solar array who have been involved since the first panel was installed back in 2016.

To date, YCH has invested over 2 million dollars in renewable energy solutions as they work towards energy independence. YCH teamed up with local energy suppliers, Benton REA and Pacific Power & Light to conduct an energy management assessment. YCH will begin implementation of a 1.2 million kWh energy savings uncovered during the assessment.