Walmart makes $2 million investment in renewable energy

Walmart Canada announced it has installed a rooftop solar power-generating system as well as a wind turbine at two separate Walmart Supercentre locations in Ontario, together totalling about $2 million in investment.

"Walmart Canada is committed to one day operating with 100 per cent renewable energy," said Roger Snowball, director of design at Walmart Canada. "These pilot projects allow us to test new technologies in a real-world setting, so that we can apply the best practices and learning to new stores in the future."

The rooftop solar power-generating system on top of the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., store will generate some 450,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year, or enough to supply 39 average size Canadian households.

Walmart used Burlington, Ont.-based BramKal Contractors to install the rooftop system.

The panels will eliminate 80 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Beside the Milton, Ont., Supercentre, the 20-kilowatt wind turbine will generate as much as 50,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year–enough to power four average size Canadian households.

The wind turbine has been designed for low wind speed areas and can operate in wind speeds as low as 10 kilometres per hour.

The power generated will be fed back to the electrical grid under Ontario's feed-in tariff program for renewable energy.

Depending on the effectiveness and potential benefits of these systems, they could be used to potentially power some of its stores in the future.