A couple of posts ago I pointed out The North Face's solar ambitions. Again, Kudos! It seems that this is becoming a major trend for large retailers like Wal-Mart, Kohls, and etc. They're all taking advantage of favorable federal and state tax incentives to install solar panels on their huge warehouse infrastructure.
Note that this is not some sort of environmental altruism on the part of these corporations. Corporations are interested in bottom-line economics. If the economics make sense, industry will follow. From NY Times:
So far, most chains have outfitted fewer than 10 percent of their stores. Over the long run, assuming Congress renews a favorable tax provision and more states offer incentives, the chains promise a solar construction program that would ultimately put panels atop almost every big store in the country.
The trend, while not entirely new, is accelerating as the chains seize a chance to bolster their environmental credentials by cutting back on their use of electricity from coal.
“It’s very clear that green energy is now front and center in the minds of the business sector,” said Daniel M. Kammen, an energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. “Not only will you see panels on the roofs of your local stores, but I suspect very soon retailers will have stickers in their windows saying, ‘This is a green energy store.’ ”
In the coming months, 85 Kohl’s stores will get solar panels; 43 already have them. “We want to keep pushing as many as we possibly can,” said Ken Bonning, executive vice president for logistics at Kohl’s.
