Burritos always taste better when they’re… solar powered? Chipotle thinks so.

Back in October 2009, the Mexican grill announced that they had partnered with Standard Renewable Energy to install solar energy systems on the rooftops of 75 Chipotle restaurants across the country. The move makes the restaurant chain the largest producer of solar energy in the restaurant industry.

Chipotle Founder and CEO Steve Ells said the solar initiative is in line with the company’s commitment to change the way people think about fast food. To that end, Chipotle also strives to provide ingredients from sustainable sources.

“That same kind of thinking now influences all areas of our business,” he said at the time of the October announcement.

Taken together, the Chipotle solar installations will avoid some 40 million pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions over the course of their useful life. The solar panels are also intended to reduce the restaurants’ consumption of conventional electricity during peak daytime hours when pressure on the electrical grid is greatest.

Chipotle hasn’t limited its activities to installing solar power. The company also sources wind power and has taken steps to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The Chipotle grill in Gurnee, Illinois, for instance, partially powers its restaurant with a wind-turbine able to supply 10 percent of the building’s energy demands. The turbine is one of several green features in place at this Chipotle location, which is a participating project in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) for Retail pilot program.

So far, solar energy systems have been installed at locations in Colorado and Texas. There are two other locations, one in Long Island, New York and another in Minneapolis, Minnesota, currently awaiting LEED certification.