Kohl’s opens 30 new stores in Calif., including 59th solar site in the state
-- Home Textiles Today, 9/30/2009 10:10:00 AM
Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Kohl’s Department Stores today is scheduled to open 30 new California units – one of which represents the retailer’s 59th solar location in the state at Point West in Sacramento.
The Sacramento store is Kohl’s 79th solar location nationwide. Including the new Sacramento solar location, nearly half of Kohl’s California stores will be solar. Other recent California solar locations opened by Kohl’s in the last month include Mira Loma, Rancho San Diego and San Jose South.
“Energy efficiency and green power are key business and environmental strategies for Kohl’s, and we continue to work to make them an integral part of building and expansion efforts,” said Ken Bonning, evp of store planning and logistics for Kohl’s. “Our solar program is a hallmark of our green power efforts, and we’re continuing to expand it because it demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and improving the environment directly in the communities we serve.”
All 30 Kohl’s stores opening in California today, including the Point West location in Sacramento, were among the 36 former Mervyns locations acquired by Kohl’s since December 2008. Like all Kohl’s stores, these California locations use high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and occupancy sensor lighting for stockrooms, break rooms and offices, and operate a recycling program for cardboard boxes, hangers and packaging.
The Point West store’s 990-panel, 206 kilowatt solar array will generate approximately 50% of the store’s energy and is expected to offset almost 5.7 million pounds of CO2 during its lifespan -- the equivalent of taking approximately 28 cars off the road each year for 20 years.
Since September 2007 when the mid-tier department store chain activated its first solar location in Laguna Niguel, Calif., Kohl’s has established a solar presence in the state, generating approximately 50 million kWh of clean, renewable energy – enough to power 5,700 houses for a year. To date, Kohl’s has been able to install rooftop solar systems on 90% of locations targeted – exceptional by solar industry standards – and account for nearly 1% of the 2017 goal of 3,000 megawatts set by the California Solar Initiative.
Kohl’s near-term goal is to have 100 solar locations in six states – California, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Oregon. Currently, California is home to 75% of Kohl’s solar stores, including its largest solar array at the San Bernardino distribution center.
While solar is one major component of Kohl’s environmental strategy, the retailer noted it also employs many other initiatives to make its California stores – and stores nationwide – more environmentally sound.
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