Shaw Industries has completed the installation of a half-acre solar array at its carpet tile manufacturing and recycling facility in Adairsville, Georgia. The solar array, which is designed for steep slope applications, is part of Shaw’s broader goal to achieve net zero operations by 2030. The company has already reduced its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 57% since 2010. The solar array is expected to generate approximately 300 kW of power, which will be used to power operations at the facility. 

Shaw officiated the switch to solar during its "Flip the Switch" ceremony held April 16, 2024 at its Adairsville T1 facility. Al Hughes, T1 plant manager, Shaw; Mike Ayers, CEO, Watershed Geo; Tim Baucom, president and CEO, Shaw; and Kellie Ballew, chief sustainability & innovation officer, Shaw, spoke on the different aspects of the installation in which they were involved. 

Shaw’s flagship carpet tile product, EcoWorx, is manufactured at the Adairsville facility. EcoWorx is the only flooring product in the world to be Cradle to Cradle Certified to the Version 4.0 standard. 

According to Hughes, the EcoWorx product that is produced today that uses the EcoFiber yarn, compared to what was being produced when the T1 facility opened in 2016, has a carbon footprint that is 60% lower. "We are proud to continue our sustainability journey and solar panel installation," he said. 

There are four pillars to Shaw's sustainability strategy, according to Ballew. Create positive social change; fuel the circular economy; design products focused on the health and well-being of people and the planet; and finally, to "be a positive force in the global effort to mitigate climate change, and that's what cleaner solar energy is—a piece of the puzzle."

The solar array is a product of Watershed Geo called PowerCap. PowerCap is specifically designed to allow for solar energy production on previously undevelopable land, such as landfills, brownfields and topographically challenging land. The system directly rests on an engineered geosynthetic technology called ClosureTurf, with no penetrations of the closure system. 

Shaw’s Adairsville facility was selected as the site for the solar array in order to provide a more accessible location for Watershed Geo customers to see the technology in action. “The demonstration installation at Shaw’s manufacturing facility provides us with the ideal way to showcase the possibilities of our PowerCap technology to more customers, more readily,” said Ayers. 

Shaw first purchased a controlling interest in Watershed Geo in 2021. The company has been providing Watershed Geo’s engineered synthetic turf for more than a decade. Shaw initially invested in Watershed Geo in 2011 to diversify the company’s use of its artificial turf manufacturing assets. Now, Shaw sees significant growth potential for Watershed Geo as it offers a more sustainable approach for large utilities, government agencies and global industries to manage their sites. 

“This installation at one of our carpet tile manufacturing and recycling facilities showcases the opportunity for Watershed Geo to move beyond landfill and impoundment sites,” said Baucom. 

Shaw’s long-term goal is to achieve net zero operations by 2030. In addition to the new solar array at the Adairsville facility, Shaw recently signed a virtual power purchase agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables. Through this agreement, Shaw will invest in renewable energy that will reduce the company’s operational footprint by approximately 15 percent annually over the next 15 years.