2Sustain

Walmart plans to install solar panels on up to 60 more stores in California –which means the company will be generating solar energy at more than 75 percent of its stores in the state.

When complete, Walmart’s total solar commitment in California is expected to:

• Generate up to 70 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy per year, which is the equivalent of powering more than 5,400 homes (using the EPA calculator).
• Avoid producing more than 21,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is the equivalent of taking approximately 4,100 cars off the road (using the EPA calculator).
• Provide 20 to 30 percent of each facility’s total electric needs.
• Total more than 130 stores by the end of 2013.
• Make California the first state in the US where Walmart has devoted this level of commitment to renewable energy. (more…)

Last week, California regulators approved a new standard that would require one-third of the electricity sold in the state in 2020 come from clean, green sources of energy.

Adopted unanimously by the California Air Resources Board (ARB), this groundbreaking Renewable Electricity Standard is now the most ambitious standard in the US. According to the ARB, it will help to:

• promote green jobs to construct and run renewable facilities in California,

• reduce hundreds of tons of harmful air pollution,

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about the equivalent of 12 to 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in 2020,

• insulate California’s economy from the shock of volatile natural gas prices,

• and help establish the state as a global leader in the research, development and manufacturing of clean, renewable energy sources.

The new standard: (more…)

Most companies are tracking some data on their operational environmental performance, but most of that is limited to tracking electricity, according to new survey results from iReuse.

The nationwide Facility and Sustainability Data Management Survey found that: (more…)

Last week, experts in dairy production, environmental science, green energy, and public policy convened near Syracuse for the New York Dairy Power Summit.

The purpose of the summit was to jumpstart opportunities for U.S. dairy farmers to use cow manure methane biogas as a way to generate reliable, cost-effective renewable electricity.
(more…)