WALGREENS AIMS FOR NET-ZERO ENERGY RETAIL

Geothermal drilling begins with construction of net-zero energy Walgreens in Evanston

Ciara MccCarthy, April 3, 2013 (The Daily Northwestern)

“…[It will be a milestone in green technology when Walgreens opens what is likely the nation’s first net-zero energy [retail] store around Thanksgiving…As a net-zero energy building, the new Walgreens will use green technology to produce more energy than it consumes…Workers have already begun the demolition of the existing Walgreens, and drilling for geothermal energy [has begun]…

“If the store is built according to the model, it will achieve net-zero energy. The model cannot, however, account for factors such as weather or appliances plugged into the store…These factors might prevent the store from achieving net-zero energy, although the company will attempt to mitigate this possibility by training employees in sustainable management of the building…”

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“Engineers estimate the store will use 200,000 kilowatt hours per year of electricity and create 256,000 kilowatt hours per year. The energy produced by the store will feed back into the electrical grid for use by other buildings on that same grid…More than 800 solar panels and two vertical wind turbines will generate this power…In addition, Walgreens said the store will utilize various green technologies such as geothermal energy, LED lighting, daylight harvesting and energy efficient building materials.

“…Walgreens is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, an initiative that aims to decrease energy usage of more than 100 organizations by 20 percent by the year 2020…Walgreens' participation in the program will allow other businesses and organizations throughout the country to use the Walgreens store as a model and learn from their challenges…”

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