Kohl's Activates Largest Rooftop Solar Rollout in U.S. History

[jpak]

http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsNAPR878.htm

Kohl's Department Stores flipped the switch on a rooftop solar energy system at its Laguna Niguel store as part of the largest planned U.S. photovoltaic solar rollout to date. Michael R. Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, joined Kohl's to celebrate this significant step toward the building of solar electric systems at 63 of Kohl's 80 California locations, which will total approximately 25 megawatts (MW). At completion, Kohl's solar program will represent approximately 15 percent of California's photovoltaic installations to date.

Kohl's is working closely with the State of California to help meet the goals set by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Public Utility Commission. Under the 2007 California Solar Initiative (CSI) program, the state expects to build solar power systems totalling 3,000 MW of solar power by 2017. At 25 MW, the total projected capacity of the Kohl's solar systems will be larger than that of the top five largest completed photovoltaic systems in the United States combined.

California PUC President Peevey said, "This marks another milestone in meeting California's commitment to lead the nation in producing and using clean renewable energy. Solar is an important part of California's goals in doing what is right for our businesses, citizens and the environment. I commend Kohl's for its leadership."

Once completed, Kohl's use of solar power will generate more than 35 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually, the equivalent of powering an estimated 3,087 California homes. Additionally, in the first full year of operation, Kohl's clean energy output will offset more than 28 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas directly linked to global climate change. Over the span of 20 years, Kohl's solar deployment will prevent in excess of 515 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

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[hunter]

1. Okay. 3,087 homes, but how many Kohl's?

Somehow I get the feeling we'd be way ahead if they simply stopped building all these new Kohl's in California...

:eyes:

[Turn CO Blue]

4. They're in the Fortune 100. Apparently, a lot of people shop there.

[hunter]

5. I'll bet these solar Kohl's use more electricity than they produce.

So they're not really powering any houses at all. Not a single coal fired power plant will be shut down by box stores with solar panels -- instead even more power plants will be built to support the drive-by consumer lifestyle.

To paraphrase John Muir, it's all connected.

A box store with solar panels is better than a box store with no solar panels, but it's still a box store. The lifestyle that supports such a box store requires huge energy inputs.

[AlecBGreen]

7. very succinct

it was on the tip of my tongue but you said it best.

"A box store with solar panels is better than a box store with no solar panels, but it's still a box store. The lifestyle that supports such a box store requires huge energy inputs."

[Kolesar]

11. Kohl's purchasing of solar apparatus does not cause the debauchery of the "box store" lifestyle

The power that the PVs produce will be a plus, and the consciousness created by consumers seeing PV technology is a definite plus.

Where are people supposed to buy clothing were it not for a "box store", anyway?

[hunter]

18. The solar panels will still be useful should our consumer paradise prove itself unsustainable.

They'll still be generating electricity even when the parking lot is empty.

I'm that kind of optimist...

:)

[kestrel91316]

24. We can turn all the empty solar-powered big box stores into

housing for climate change refugees........

[Turn CO Blue]

16. Some PV is better than no PV. The glass is half full here.

If everybody would off-set even just 10-25% of what they use, that'd be a start to turning this ship around.

The Kohl's aren't going away - they're HUGE. That's the "favorite" store for a lot of people I know.

[jpak]

12. Ummmm... the OP sez 63 stores that already exist

n/t

[frazzled]

2. That and Vera Wang?

Maybe I should check it out.

[tom_paine]

3. Some good news. I like that.

One down...now how many more to go?

Solar panels should have been required quipment on new housing construction for years now, perhaps decades (depends on the advance of the technology over time).

[Pawel K]

6. The important thing is how much is this going to cost them?

I find it odd that they would not mention the cost. Lets try to be a little more fair and balanced about presenting this.

[AlecBGreen]

8. that seems to be SOP these days

They say how much power it willl produce and how many pounds of CO2 it will prevent from entering the atmosphere. They DONT tend to mention:

1) installation and maintenance costs.
2) what it took to fabricate and install the system.
3) how much the energy will cost per kWhr.
4) how much electricty the store demands vs. how much will be met by the panels.

BIG gaps in the reporting. Hopefully our journalists will learn to ask some deeper questions.

[Pawel K]

9. Well to be fair the source in this case was solarbuzz.com

I wasn't expecting objective reporting about it which is why I posted.

It seems like people want feel good solution to the global warming problem. The fact is we need real solutions, not some half-baked (even if well intentioned) ideas.

[AlecBGreen]

10. yeah

the renewable energy people shoot themselves in the foot every time they give half-truths and incomplete data. If their product (which I DO believe in) is so good, then prove it! Show me the data!

[jpak]

13. According to the nattering nabobs of negativism, this is the worst shit ever

But alas and alack, every time the sun shines on those stores their electrical demand will decline dramatically - especially in the summer months when A/C loads are high.

And they *will* reduce fossil fuel consumption especially during those summer peak demand periods.

Too bad

[Kolesar]

15. Nattering nabobs of negative-

positive charge separation. har har. Nerd humor.

[hunter]

17. They *will not* reduce fossil fuel consumption.

They will simply slow the rate of increase.

Shutting down fossil fueled power plants is the only way you reduce fossil fuel consumption.

If we banned the construction of new fossil fueled power plants, and shut down existing fossil fueled power plants over some acceptable time period then we would be reducing fossil fuel consumption. Without that constraint any fossil fuel that Kohl's conserves with its solar panels is simply used elsewhere; if not today, then tommorrow.

[bananas]

20. Yes, they *will* reduce fossil fuel consumption

Peak load is typically met by burning fossil fuel,
these panels will directly reduce the amount of fossil fuel burned.

[hunter]

21. I'll bet they get more customers... driving to Kohl's because it's "green."

Buying even more stuff that was carried across the oceans on big diesel powered ships.

Oops, there goes that savings...

Mind you, I've got nothing against Kohl's or their solar panels. My wife and kids like to shop there, although myself, I'm perfectly happy buying clothes in thrift stores or wherever else I might wander. I used to be pretty close in style to grunge band dumpster diving woman on TLC's What Not to Wear.

Maybe my wife and kids would rather go to Kohl's more than some place that doesn't have solar panels, but the numbers are not encouraging, although the warm fuzzy thoughts do count for something. Overall, installing these solar panels does very little to reduce Kohl's environmental footprint, which, truth be told, is partly my environmental footprint because I bought socks there once.

[bananas]

22. They'll drive to Kohl's because it's air-conditioned.

Stores without solar panels won't be able to afford it.

[NNadir]

19. This sounds like when Spiro told us we were winning in Vietnam.

In fact, that's exactly what Spiro was talking about, the Vietnam war, another lost cause and failure be sold as a "success."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew

I find hilarious that all of the car culture "make in China using Chinese coal" retail companies are now pretending that they couldn't care more about climate change even as it is intrinsic to their nature that they couldn't care less.

Amory Lovins must be cleaning up. Maybe Kohl's wooed him away from Walmart by promising to pay the shit-for-brains fossil fuel apologist $25,000/day rather than the $20,000/day Walmart was paying.

That, by the way, is enough to pay 5,000 illegal immigrants to work all day in the hot sun pulling cigarette butts out the little patches of "garden" they stick in the middle of the vast asphalt car lots.

Of course, we won't even touch the fact that this latest installment of the happy face "world's largest" (a new one every day) has not made solar electricity anything more than the completely trivial form of energy it has been for decades now.

I am so happy that the EIA now breaks this shit down by "happy horseshit" type:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/prelim_trends/table1.xls

Solar remains the smallest form of climate change gas free energy, by far, through brazillions and brazillions of "world's largest" and "brazillion solar roof campaigns" and of course the greatest and the bestest, "low cost solar from mass production and new magical solar technology!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I have always said that the antinuke industry assumes stupidity.

[jpak]

23. and if we build nuclear plants, box-store-car-culture will magically disappear

la la la la la la la

[kestrel91316]

25. Kinda sad how some folks are ANGERED by every new solar PV

installation.......

[dbackjon]

14. A good first step

Just think if every flat-roofed Big Box store in the US did that...