MA Criticizes Wal-Mart, Lowe’s For Lack of Energy Efficiency In Proposed Stores

If Wal-Mart and Lowe’s intend to move forward with new stores in Salem, Mass., they need to incorporate energy saving features, said Massachusetts’ Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary, Ian Bowles.

Bowles said that plans Wal-Mart and Lowe’s filed with the state were disappointing because they did not include solar power or energy saving measures that the retailers have put forth in other states, reports the Boston Globe.

Because of that, Bowles denied a request to allow the two retailers to file a single environmental impact report for a development space that the two plan to share in Salem.

“I expect both Lowe’s and Walmart to consider measures that would make their Massachusetts stores more energy efficient than what was presented,” Bowles wrote, according to the Globe.

In 2007, the state began requiring large developments to quantify and reduce emissions when in the environmental review process.

Governor Deval Patrick in the past has said big-box retailers should install solar panels on their roofs.

Wal-Mart said in a statement that it would cooperate with the state and it “understands that reducing greenhouse gases is a priority of the Patrick administration.”

Bowles is urging the retailers to consider solar panels, energy efficient windows, reduced energy lighting and high-efficiency HVAC systems.