Walmart Achieves Solar Power Milestones in 3 States

Provided by Walmart:

Every day at Walmart, we work toward our dream of being supplied 100% by renewable energy. Our accomplishments to date have become possible only through the strength of our solar power partners, our environmentally conscience communities and our earth-concerned customers.  

So far, we have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers a year ahead of our committed goal. Smaller solar systems provide 10-15% of a store’s electricity requirements, and larger systems provide 20-30% of a store’s electricity requirements.

Today, we’re celebrating major solar milestones in Ohio, Hawaii and Massachusetts.

Solar Ohio

Thanks to a Walmart partnership with SolarCity, we have completed solar installations on enough Walmart stores to make us the state’s largest solar power user.  The savings in carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) each year is roughly equivalent to taking over 1,000 cars off the road.

According to Bill Spratley, Executive Director of Green Energy Ohio, “Walmart's installation of solar on 12 store rooftops is the largest solar commitment ever made by a retail business in Ohio.”

Solar Hawaii

In community partnership with SunEdison, Walmart continues an aggressive schedule of installing solar power installations in Hawaii stores. One year of operation for each our three latest rooftop systems is equivalent to removing 67 cars off the road for one year. The three systems combined are expected to remove over 2,000 cars in 10 years.

As Rey Armijo, Hawaii Market Manager for Walmart, said, “We are committed to making decisions that are not only good for business and the environment, but also allow us to pass on savings to our customers.” 

Solar Massachusetts*

In January, Walmart completed our 200th solar installation, doubling the 100th-installation milestone we achieved a year earlier. The 200th installation is in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. We are partnering with Greenskies of Connecticut  to install solar panels at all 27 of our Massachusetts stores by 2014, which will make us the largest user of solar power in the state. The power generated will be equal to enough energy for more than 1,300 homes.

In the words of George Bachrach, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts,
“Walmart’s solar installation commitment is a game-changer for renewable energy in Massachusetts. This is the largest business customer to see the economic and environmental benefits of solar power, and I hope others follow in Walmart’s footsteps.”

Walmart continues the work daily to use green energy, store by store and state by state. Our ongoing solar system projects are major contributors to Walmart’s being recognized by the EPA Green Partners Program as the No. 1 user/producer of on-site renewable generation in the U.S.