Wal-Mart To Go Solar To Save Energy

ENERGY TECH

Bentonville (UPI) Oct 28, 2005
Wal-mart has announced that energy efficiency and renewable energy such as roof solar panels are part of its corporate goals for its U.S. stores.

Wal-Mart's Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott over the next three years he wants to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources, cut energy use in stores by 30 percent and cut fuel consumption in its truck fleet by 25 percent, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

A test store in Texas has been using solar panels and Wal-Mart's truck fleet is being outfitted with plastic skirts to cut wind resistance. Adding one mile per gallon to the fleet can save the mega-retailer $2 million a year, according to Scott.

"If Wal-Mart was a city, they'd be No. 5 in country, so the company's leadership is very important," says Amory Lovins, who heads the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think tank in Snowmass, Colo. "If they help introduce similar efficiencies and green practices throughout their supply chain, it could have a huge effect."

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ENERGY TECH

Scientists Synthesize Cheap, Easy-to-Make Ultra-thin Photovoltaic Films

Berkeley CA (SPX) Oct 24, 2005
Imagine a future in which the rooftops of residential homes and commercial buildings can be laminated with inexpensive, ultra-thin films of nano-sized semiconductors that will efficiently convert sunlight into electrical power and provide virtually all of our electricity needs.