2Sustain

Last week, IKEA announced plans to install solar energy panels on five locations in the Midwest, extending the company’s solar presence to nearly 85 percent of its US locations. Pending governmental permits, installation can begin this winter, with completion expected in summer 2012.

Collectively, the five stores will total approximately 20,400 panels, 4.8 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity and an annual output of 5.62 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity –that’s the equivalent to reducing 4,273 tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and  equal to eliminating the emissions of 760 cars or providing electricity for 484 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html).

This investment by IKEA reinforces the company’s long-term commitment to sustainability and confidence in photovoltaic (PV) technology, and it’s worth noting that IKEA will own and operate each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings, as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement).

If you’re curious about more details, here are a few of the locations, along with approximate system statistics and corresponding clean energy equivalents: (more…)

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, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a detailed draft environmental analysis that identifies public lands best-suited for solar development in six western states.

The study, called the Draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), was compiled over the past two years as part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to create a framework for developing renewable energy on America’s public lands. More specifically, the Draft Solar PEIS assessed the environmental, social, and economic impacts associated with solar energy development on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

(more…)

General Mills has completed installation of solar panels at its facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, and the company says it now expects solar energy to supply nearly 80 percent of the warehouse’s summertime power needs, and 40 percent of its needs the rest of the year.

This is the first General Mills facility in the US to produce its own electricity using solar energy.

The panels will: (more…)

In light of the BP oil spill disaster now occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, I can’t say that I’m surprised. But, even so, it’s still encouraging to hear that in a recent survey by Applied Materials, three-quarters of Americans feel that increasing renewable energy and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil are the country’s top energy priorities.

The new survey, conducted by phone during the period June 10-13, 2010, polled a nationally representative sample of 1,000 American adults, and in addition to identifying widespread support for renewable energy initiatives, the study also revealed a growing willingness among consumers to help pay for alternatives to petroleum-based energy sources. (more…)