Wal-Mart goes solar in test program
Retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Monday a pilot program testing the use of solar power at some of its operations in Hawaii and California.
Set to be installed in 22 locations in the sunshine and island states, the equipment is being purchased from BP Solar, SunEdison LLC, and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corp. The facilities in the pilot program include Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Club warehouse stores and a distribution center.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., the retailer has been working for some time to generate less waste and use less energy. The company has opened two Wal-Mart Supercenters designed to use 20 percent less energy than conventional facilities. The stores use natural light whenever possible and employ energy-saving heating and cooling systems and construction materials.
SunEdison will provide the four solar power systems for the Hawaiian facilities and four for California facilities. PowerLight and BP Solar will each supply seven systems in California.
Financial details of the pilot program were not released.
The goal of the program is to determine whether the firm can harness the sun to provide electricity to all its stores. Wal-Mart estimates that the completed systems will generate up to 20 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or about 30 percent of the stores' total usage. The company said the program was among the largest of its kind.
The company claims that the systems will reduce greenhouse gas production by up to 11,000 tons per year.