Big Box Stores Leading the Shift to Renewable Energy

Bruce Horovitz reports that big box stores, not exactly known for environmental friendliness in terms of transportation and land use, have wholeheartedly embraced the environmental friendliness of renewable energy, namely rooftop solar.

Take Target as an example, writes Horovitz:

Target is so serious about being viewed as a friend of the planet that by November, the company said, it will have erected rooftop solar panels on 500 of its stores in the United States. That’s more than one-quarter of its total 1,855 stores, and Target expects to reach that goal one year earlier than projected.

Target is now outpacing Wal-Mart, which was an early adopter of a large-scale solar installation program. "In its relentless bid to out-green archrival Walmart, Target also has ranked No. 1 in on-site solar capacity for three years in a row in the Solar Energy Industries Association’s Solar Means Business report, a survey of corporate solar users," according to Horovitz

The actions of Target and Wal-Mart reflect larger trends among large retails toward solar initiatives as a win for bottom lines and public images. And reneaable energy isn't just popular with big box stores. In total, "companies in the United States purchased three times as much power generated from solar and wind energy in 2018 than they did the year before," reports Horovitz.