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In May 2011, VF Outdoor, a subsidiary of VF Corporation, broke ground on its four-building, 11-acre, 160,000-square-foot campus in Alameda, California, to consolidate locations for three VF brands: The North Face, lucy and JanSport.

Consistent with these brands' commitment to the environment and innovative design, the campus incorporates many sustainability features, including indirect evaporative cooling HVAC that requires no compressors or refrigerants, energy-efficient T-5 lighting with motion sensors, FSC-certified wood, low-flow water fixtures, denim insulation, EV charging stations, vertical wind turbines and solar shades over the building windows on the east, south and west sides.

Even after construction was under way, VF's internal sustainability team continued exploring how to achieve its goal of net zero energy. VF tasked Sunlight Electric with achieving net zero status with PV while addressing and overcoming several issues and challenges. Limited roof space with 12-foot-high mechanical screens on the four building roofs reduced unshaded space for PV arrays. Unshaded space was also limited in the parking lot, and there was no space for ground-mount arrays, nor did the client wish to lose any parking spaces.