Whole Foods Market: Making the Case for Rapid Solar Roll-Out
Whole Foods Market is a major natural and organic grocer with 450 stores, including 430 in the U.S., 11 in Canada, and nine in the UK. The company’s experience with rooftop solar power began in the early 2000s with a series of single store installations initiated by local solar developers and led by onsite managers. By the end of 2015, Whole Foods Market had completed almost 40 solar installations. Motivated by this progress and a corporate commitment to sustainability, the company recently announced a plan to retrofit approximately 100 facilities (both stores and distribution centers) with rooftop solar. To view the full PDF version of this implementation model, click here.
Whole Foods Market sought to rapidly expand rooftop solar on stores and distribution centers as part of its long standing commitment to sustainability. Drawing on lessons learned from ad hoc solar installations to align landlord and tenant interests, the company developed a portfolio approach to install rooftop solar on 25% of its stores and warehouses.
Barriers
Leases & landlord concerns, roof quality, installation oversight.
Solution
Draw on lessons learned from ad hoc installations to align landlord and tenant interests and create a portfolio approach to realize economies of scale.
Outcome
Developing approximately 100 new rooftop solar systems through third-party power purchase aggreement (PPA) contracts with NRG Energy and SolarCity; projects will cover 25% of all Whole Foods Market stores and warehouses and are expected to provide a favorable return on investment, predictability in future energy procurement, and environmental benefits.
