REI installing solar power at 11 stores

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.rei.com/aboutrei/releases/08solar.html

May 15, 2008

CONTACT: REI Public Affairs [phone]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

REI Extends Commitment to Renewable Energy with Solar Power Investment
Solar Electric Installations Planned for Retail Locations in California, Oregon and Texas

Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national retail cooperative providing quality outdoor gear and clothing, today announced plans to retrofit more than 10 percent of its stores with solar electric technology in 2008. Aligned with the co-op’s environmental priorities, REI’s commitment represents one of the largest solar investments for a specialty retailer in the country.

Photovoltaic solar panels can self-generate up to 35 percent of a store’s energy needs. REI’s solar investment will generate an estimated 1.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power 117 homes for one year and save approximately 880 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

The co-op has selected 11 stores to be retrofitted with solar electric systems in 2008. The seven locations in California include Arcadia, Folsom, Sacramento, San Carlos, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Rosa. Additional stores include three in Oregon – Clackamas, Hillsboro and Tualatin – and the co-op’s second prototype store in Round Rock, Texas, which was piloted in Boulder, Colo. and aims to test retail design and green building concepts. These locations will serve as a foundation for REI to determine how it approaches solar installations in the future.

“We are continuously looking for ways to make the design, construction and operation of our buildings more sustainable,” said Brian Unmacht, REI’s executive vice president of Sales, Service, Store Development and Logistics. “This investment in solar technology will deliver both financial and environmental benefits, helping to contribute to the long-term strength of the co-op and support our goal to reduce our carbon footprint.”

...

[phantom power]

1. Amusing. They're going to do it in Oregon, but not Phoenix.

[jpak]

5. What does OR have that AZ doesn't (and it's not photons)???

:evilgrin:

[phantom power]

7. Sure, but we have *more* photons.

If I had 11 stores to choose from, I'd pick the two here in Phoenix, before I started on Oregon.

[midnight]

2. This is so exciting.

[frylock]

3. rei is my second-favorite store..

Fry's Electronics being the first.

[Greyskye]

4. Sweet. The REI down the street is one of the ones going solar.

Most excellent!

[tanstaafl]

6. Wish they would do this to my local store as well

In Maryland they just put into place grants of up to $10K for solar installations. Combine that with other Fed / State / Local tax credits and I think just about anyone could put in a solar array.