Wal-Mart, Tesco Vie For King Of The Solar Power Initiatives

Wal-Mart, which has set a public goal of relying on 100% renewable energy, says it has made a solar-energy purchase that may be among the top-10 largest solar-power initiatives in the world.

News of the purchase--part of a pilot project that will install solar units at 22 stores in California and Hawaii--comes just weeks after U.K.-based Tesco announced that it would spend $13 million putting a solar roof on its new California distribution center, which it also says may be among the world's largest solar projects.

Tesco, the third-largest retailer in the world and a major investor in green initiatives, is relatively unknown in the U.S. It's scheduled to begin rolling out its first U.S. Fresh & Easy stores this fall.

Such "greener than thou" efforts are becoming increasingly important to corporate marketing strategies, particularly among food retailers. For example, Whole Foods Market ranks No. 3 in the Environmental Protection Agency's April 2007 "Top 25 Green Power Partners," based on the largest green power purchases in the U.S. (PepsiCo and Wells Fargo are No. 1 and 2, respectively.) Staples, Safeway, and Kohl's are also in the top 25.

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Wal-Mart says each solar-powered generating system can provide up to 30% of the power for the store on which it is installed. The company estimates the solar power systems "will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6,500 to 10,000 metric tons per year."

Often accused of "green-washing" by environmentalists, the retailer is already testing wind- and solar-powered generation in its experimental stores in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colo.

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