Kohl’s Installs Solar Panels on 100 Retail Stores

Kohl's Solar Panels help lower costs for consumers

Put aside worries about Christmas shopping and winter energy bills and consider this news:  Kohl’s has installed solar panels on 100 of its retail stores.  The new systems generate clean solar electricity and help save money for the retailers, which means lower prices for all of us over time.

Of the 100 Kohl’s stores that have installed solar panels, the most recent outlet is in Mays Landing, New Jersey.  In Pennsylvania, 7 more Kohl’s stores will get solar panels in the next 4 months, by the end of Q1 of 2011.

Each of the 100 Kohl’s installing solar panels have used about 1,400 panels that defray 40% of the electricity and energy usage at each store – that is a total of more than 140,000 solar panels on the retail stores!  And the investment in solar energy has already saved Kohl’s about 50 million dollars.

By the end of 2010, Kohl’s expects to be carbon-neutral.

According to Ken Bonning, a Kohl’s senior manager:

“Our 100 solar locations, commitment to build 73 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified locations and 500 Energy Star stores demonstrate our ongoing commitment to sustainability with meaningful results.”

The impact of Kohl’s installing solar panels on 100 retail stores is sure to be far reaching.  Consider these facts:

• Kohl’s has stores or distribution centers with solar panels in California, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, and Colorado.
• Kohl’s reportedly uses the most solar panels of all retail companies in North America.
• In January of 2010, the company achieved 100 percent green power, according to their press release. Nationwide Kohl’s operates just over 1,000 stores in 49 states.

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