Whole Foods is going solar, with a bid to be one of the biggest commercial rooftop solar users in the United States.
The Austin, Texas-based grocery chain penned agreements with SolarCity and NRG Energy Inc. to install rooftop solar at up to 100 stores around the United States.
New Jersey-based NRG will install the solar units at up to a maximum of 84 Whole Foods stores and distribution centers in nine states for on-site renewably energy while California-based SolarCity will install the rest, said the chain’s spokesperson Blaire Kniffin.
The partnership with NRG — which boasts of a diverse energy portfolio spanning residences and commercial businesses — can potentially generate up to 13.8 megawatts of solar energy.
“Installing solar at Whole Foods Market locations across the country will increase the percentage of renewable energy that is generated in communities where we work,” shared Kathy Loftus, Whole Foods’ global leader for sustainability.
While the parties did not reveal the locations of stores that will have rooftop solar units, Loftus said that they intend to install a unit in each region.
Whole Foods — positioned in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain through 439 stores — will also purchase discounted power from SolarCity, which will install more systems for it in the future.
The chain pushed for an agreement with the two energy companies to avoid being “limited” and to increase its volume as well as geographical markets.
For Loftus, going solar meant doing what is right not only for the environment but also for the business, insulating it from likely energy cost hikes in the future. A rooftop solar unit, for instance, can produce up to 20 percent of the annual electricity that a store needs.
Once the solar installations are complete, Whole Foods expects to be one among the top 25 corporate users of the renewably energy in the country.
Whole Foods had sales of over $15.4 billion in fiscal year 2015.
On the other hand, the fourth quarter of 2015 had not been very kind to SolarCity, with bigger-than-projected losses of almost $232 million and a slower movement of solar installations than expected. For its CEO Lyndon Rive, the drop in earnings could be partly due to delays in its commercial projects.
Photo: Open Grid Scheduler | Flickr
