June 6, 2007

Macy’s Installs Solar Power In 26 Stores

Macy’s says it will install solar power systems and significantly reduce energy consumption in 26 stores throughout California. The company is partnering with SunPower on the deal - its subsidiary PowerLight will install the systems under contracts totaling eight megawatts on Macy’s stores.

By combining solar power with efficiency, SunPower says Macy’s will reduce utility-provided energy by an estimated 40 percent, almost doubling the impact of the solar power alone. The energy efficiency upgrades will include high-efficiency lighting and HVAC systems and energy management systems.

For 15 of the 26 stores, Macy’s will purchase solar-generated electricity under SunPower’s Access program that allows the retailer to purchase just the electricity generated at its stores - not the solar power systems themselves - from a third-party financier. At the end of a 10-year term, Macy’s will have the option to renew the agreement, transfer the equipment to a new site, or buy the system. Macy’s will buy solar power systems for the remaining 11 stores through an outright system purchase.

There have been many announcements recently concerning solar installations at retail companies:

• Wal-Mart is purchasing as much as 20 million kWh of solar power, from BP Solar, SunEdison LLC, and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, for 22 combined Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and a distribution center in Hawaii and California.
• Kohl’s is converting more than 75 percent of its department stores in California to solar power beginning in May.
• Target has installed solar panels on the roofs of four of its California stores and plans to install similar systems at 14 more locations later this year.
• BJ’s Wholesale Club has installed solar power systems on the rooftops of two Connecticut BJ’s Wholesale Clubs.
• Costco has installed its second solar-powered energy system at its Lake Elsinore, California warehouse.
• Staples recently unveiled the largest solar power installation in New England at its 300,000-square-foot retail distribution center in Killingly, Connecticut.
• Tesco, the fourth-largest retail chain in the world, is installing a $13 million solar roof on its five-building, 820,400-square-foot distribution center under construction in Riverside, California.
• Wal-Mart is already using solar power in its experimental stores.

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