Skip to main content

Rooftop Bling: Forever 21 HQ to Be Dressed in Solar Power

Support Provided By
Forever 21's headquarters in L.A.'s Lincoln Heights neighborhood will be covered in solar power panels.
Forever 21's headquarters in L.A.'s Lincoln Heights neighborhood will be covered in solar power panels. | Photo:Pink Dispatcher/Flickr/Creative Commons License

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ceremoniously helped install the first solar panel today on what the city is heralding as the largest single-rooftop solar power system in Los Angeles County.

The planned 5.1-megawatt solar power system being installed on the rooftop of fashion retailer Forever 21's headquarters in Lincoln Heights is the first to take advantage of two LADWP solar incentive programs on one site.

The Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program and the Solar Incentive Program provide monetary incentives to LADWP customers who install their own solar panels and allow those customers to sell excess power back to the grid, according to LADWP General Manager Marcie Edwards.

"We applaud Forever 21 for planning the largest solar rooftop system in the city and the third largest in the state," Edwards said. "It's a great example of how a business can use both of LADWP's customer-focused, local solar programs to generate solar power for their own use as well as to benefit the entire city with clean renewable energy," she said.

Garcetti also lauded Forever 21's efforts and said the solar project moves the city one step closer towards the goal of generating 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

"We have got to cut our energy consumption and go green with the energy that we have," Garcetti said. "This is over 1,000 homes that will get their power just for Forever 21 being wise about the future."

Solar energy installation specialist PermaCity will install the system on Forever 21's roof with expected completion by early fall. Once complete, PermaCity estimates the system will help keep nearly 13 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air each year -- the equivalent of taking 1,200 cars off the road.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.