The outlook for Whole Foods’ future as a leader in the green corporate world has gotten a bit brighter with their recent move to install solar panels on nearly one quarter of their stores in the U.S. If Whole Foods reaches its goals of installing 100 solar rooftops it has the potential to be among the top 25 “largest commercial rooftop solar installations in the country,” according to a Whole Foods press release.
The Austin-based grocery chain has developed two separate partnerships to see the project through, according to The Austin Business Journal. Houston-based NRG Energy Inc. will install as many as 84 solar rooftops on Whole Foods stores and distribution centers in nine states. The larger partnership is with California SolarCity Corp. that will retrofit solar rooftop systems at 100 of the company’s 434 stores nationwide. The installations will begin this spring.
This big greening move will not only help offset costs when the stores produce some of their own energy, but will hopefully help offset some of the controversy that the store faced a few days ago over its wasteful packaging of oranges (though not everyone is mad about that, according to this Texas Tribune article).
