The Planet Fitness in St. Petersburg, Florida, has partnered with Solar Energy Management to become the first 24/7 Planet Fitness to be a net-zero energy building. As a result, it is now 99.5 percent reliant on sustainable solar power.
This capability was made possible from a redesign of the building, that involved the placement of 179 kilowatts of solar panels — a solar power canopy and solar roof system is now fully integrated into the 20,000-square-foot building’s infrastructure. As part of the project, the building’s lighting was also upgraded to LED fixtures.
Thanks to these additions, Planet Fitness estimates more than 5,600 tons of carbon dioxide will be eliminated — the equivalent to the planting of more than 130,000 trees — and the building’s monthly energy bill will be reduced by 99 percent.
Doug Kuiken is the Planet Fitness franchisee who owns the newly-retrofitted solar power St. Petersburg location.
“We are extremely excited to celebrate our first solar-powered Planet Fitness location system-wide,” said Chris Rondeau, Planet Fitness’ CEO, in a press release. “We are proud to support Doug’s work on this important initiative and always work closely with our franchise partners to support their enterprises, encourage innovation and reduce our environmental impact wherever possible.”
The St. Petersburg Planet Fitness is now Florida’s largest solar power retrofit building. As a result, the location is expected to earn significant energy savings over time.
Planet Fitness was founded in Dover, N.H. in 1992. It has more than 1,300 locations in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Dominican Republic, serving around 10 million members.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
