The planet's largest retailer, wanting to save the planet's resources, is putting in 30,110 square feet of covered parking at the north end of Foothills Super Walmart at 7635 N. La Cholla Blvd. in Tucson. The carports are over-built to support the solar panels that Solar City is installing there. Neither Walmart nor Solar City were available for comments about the project, but we were told by an anonymous source that this is not the only Tucson store going solar, but they could not tell us whether or not the others were carport or roof installations.
My discovery of the carports and solar project at the Foothills’ Walmart just happened to be on the same day that Walmart chose to highlight its progress with the Sustainability Index, a measurement system used to track the environmental impact of products.
When we contacted Walmart for information about their solar carports in Tucson we got back this prepared statement:
“Walmart has more than 180 renewable energy projects in operation or development around the world, generating enough energy to power 78,000 American homes annually. Here are a few ways we’re working to become powered by 100% renewable energy.”
“Walmart is a leader in testing and scaling renewable energy projects in our stores, including solar, micro-wind on our parking lots, biodiesel generators and fuel cells. These locally generated power sources have the potential to meet up to 60% of a store’s energy needs. Examples include:
- 150 solar installations in seven countries, delivering 71 million kilowatt hours of energy annually to our stores, clubs and distribution centers – enough to take 9,600 vehicles off the road for a year. In California alone, 75% of our facilities will use some form of renewable energy since 2012.
- 26 fuel cell installations in the U.S., delivering 65 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
- We are testing onsite micro-wind, large-scale wind, solar water heating, as well as solar thermal in various markets, including Canada, Chile, China, Mexico and the U.S.”
That’s all good to know, but as the summer heat continues in Tucson, I’m just thinking, “When can I park in that covered parking?” I’m on it though, like summer in Arizona, ‘determined’ to find out more and will continue to research the Walmart solar project in Tucson.
Please contact us at REDailyNews@outlook.com if you see any covered parking or solar projects at other Walmarts in Arizona.