Great Bay Distributors in Largo is building a new warehouse that will have the largest private solar panel system in Florida to keep millions of cases of beer cold, according to the company's Chief Operations Officer.

"We're doing it to save a ton of money chilling all this beer down," said COO Scott Penland.

An array of 5,000 solar panels will be installed on the roof of the 260,000-square-foot warehouse that's being built just south of Valpak in St. Petersburg. Penland said 190,000 square feet of that warehouse will be refrigerated.

"About 11 million cases annually is what we sell," he said. "We refrigerate anywhere between 600,000 and a million cases a month."

Penland said he hopes to shave 40 percent off their current utility bill. The $2.5 million solar power system is expected to pay itself off within 6 years.

"We're really excited," Penland said. "We know it's a big capital investment but we're looking to the future, looking to be a good environmental partner."

The headquarters for Darden Restaurants in Orlando currently holds the title of largest private solar power system in the state. The Great Bay Distributors new warehouse is expected to be completed by early next year.