Mason, Ohio, top 15 employer will generate 48% of its power through the sun's energy.

Festo is in the top 15 employers in Mason, Ohio. Next year Festo’s Regional Service Center will receive 48% of its electricity from the sun’s energy. One of the positive things to come out of this upcoming project is that for every kilowatt hour of energy generated by the new solar panels, a kilowatt hour is then available locally without an additional power generation. This is enough electricity to power 359 homes for a year.

Festo Launches a Clean Energy Initiative at Its North American Regional Service Center in Mason, Ohio

Electricity generated by solar panels will add to the local energy pool – enough to power 359 Ohio homes for a year.

MASON, Ohio, September 18, 2024 — Festo, a global leader in industrial automation controls and systems and industrial training systems, announced today the launch of a clean energy project at its North American Regional Service Center along I-71. Roof-mounted solar panels will supply 48% of the facility’s electricity requirements – 2.6 million kilowatt hours (kWh) – after completion of the project, which is slated for next year. One of Ohio’s leading solar power companies, Kokosing Solar Power, Athens, Ohio, is the project’s general contractor.

“Every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by sunlight at the Festo North American Regional Service Center is an additional kilowatt hour added to Duke Energy’s pool of electricity for local consumers and businesses,” said Jose Luis Esparza, Head of Non-Production Material Procurement, Festo North America. “The added energy to the grid from this project will be equivalent to the electricity used by 359 homes in a year.”*

While traditional power plants emit greenhouse gases during electricity generation, photovoltaic panels do not. The solar panel project at Festo Mason will reduce CO2 emissions by 1,841 metric tons annually. This reduction in CO2
is equivalent to the carbon sequestration of a 2,000-acre forest.*
Additional benefits of cleanly generated electricity include water savings, lower stress on the power grid, and reduced cost of generating and distributing electricity. Solar and wind projects support job growth in the clean energy industry.

Built in 2015 and expanded several times since, the Festo Regional Service Center is the North American distribution hub for Festo’s globally manufactured automation products. The facility, which employs 350 people, also assembles custom orders and builds unique products for North American customers. Festo Didactic, the learning arm of Festo, builds hands-on systems that community colleges utilize to train the next generation of manufacturing and processing technicians.

Festo’s automation technology is so crucial in automotive, food, medicine, and packaged consumer goods plants that the company was designated as an essential business during the pandemic. Festo is one of the top 15 employers in Mason.

Headquartered in Esslingen, Germany, Festo is a family-owned $3.9 billion business employing more than 20,000 people in 60 countries. Festo celebrates its 100th
anniversary next year.

Sustainability is firmly anchored in Festo’s corporate strategy. In 2024, the company joined the World Resources Institute Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Also in 2024, Festo global operations offset 100% of its direct carbon emissions and achieved CO2 neutrality for indirect emissions. Festo plans to generate 25% of its electricity through solar power by 2030. The Mason solar power initiative has been funded by a grant from the Festo family.

*Equivalencies calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Equivalency Calculator.

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