Wal-Mart - Pathetic: 3% Of Electricity From Renewables; Walton Family Pushes To Block Rooftop Solar

[hatrack]

Recent revelations that the Walton Family, majority owners of Walmart, are funding attacks against the rooftop solar industry called into question the big-box retailer’s very public “100% renewable energy” commitment. A new report by the Institute on Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) documenting Walmart’s massive carbon emissions is likely to add even more fuel to that fire.

According to ILSR, which also exposed the Walton Family’s anti-rooftop solar initiatives, Walmart is one of the heaviest users of coal-fired electricity in the United States, resulting in 8 million metric tons of carbon pollution produced every year by the mega chain’s operations. Since making its environmental commitments in 2005 with great fanfare, Walmart has done little to honor its pledge to transition to renewable energy and “be a good steward of the environment.”

Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher at ILSR and co-author of the new report, wrote in April that Walmart's use of renewables peaked in 2011 and has slipped since then.

“Walmart’s progress on renewable power is particularly pitiful when you look at other retailers,” she added. “Staples, Kohl's, and Whole Foods, along with numerous small businesses, have already passed the 100 percent renewable power mark.” Today, just 3% of the electricity powering Walmart’s U.S. stores comes from renewable sources.

EDIT

http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/11/28/walmart-s-reliance-dirty-energy-responsible-8-million-metric-tons-carbon-pollution-year

[Thinkingabout]

1. Give them a few more years and solar power cells will bevthe biggest hit on Black Friday.

[NYC_SKP]

2. To be clear, Kohl's and Staples hit %100 renewable by purchasing RECs.

And on-site generation.

Nota Bene: Use of fuel cells is not a form of renewable energy generation but when used to offset power use away from times of high demand, the net result is that the energy generated is cleaner, so good for them.

Walmart, apparently, doesn't care to engage in that program.

http://www.kohlsgreen.com/sustainable-operations/energy-and-carbon-reduction/renewable-energy/

http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/about_us/renewable-energy-efficiency.html

http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/

[riversedge]

3. my patience is wearing thin

[djean111]

4. Not surprising, the 1% will be delighted to manage to keep solar energy for their own

personal use, while making big profits off of non-renewables sold to the rest of us.
I think that it is probably too late for them to pay off enough people in Washington in order to corner the solar panel/battery market, so they will content themselves with going after rooftop solar in the states in order to protect their investment portfolios.