Target Commits to Solar Power at 500 Stores
February 26, 2015
Target plans to increase the number of buildings it operates in the United States with rooftop solar panels to 500 by 2020.
Target said it has a long-term interest in designing and operating energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. “We’re increasingly meeting a portion of our energy needs with solar power. Currently, our stores that use solar power generate between 15 and 30 percent of their energy from solar, easing the burden on local power grids,” the retailer wrote on its website. “We may sell the renewable energy certificates for that energy.”
For 2015 and 2016 alone, Target has committed to adding solar panels to 250 Target buildings. Of Target’s 1,790 stores, 108 currently have rooftop solar arrays and future plans call for adding solar to distribution centers, too, according to Kristy Welker, a Target spokesperson.
“Through Target’s investment in renewables, we have expanded geographic and cost competitive opportunities for clean energy,” said David Hughes, senior group manager, energy management for Target. “Our new goal to build 500 solar sites by 2020 shows how renewable energy is an integral part of our energy strategy.”
A portion of the new sites where Target will be adding solar panels are in markets where the department store chain has not developed solar panels in the past, including Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Target’s solar developer partners include EnterSolar, Greenskies, SoCore and SunPower.
The remaining markets where Target plans to add solar panels in 2015 and 2016 will be in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas, according to Welker.