Safeway Opens First of 23 Solar-Powered Markets

PLEASANTON, California, September 13, 2007 (ENS) - Safeway Inc. today announced a new environmental project to power 23 California stores with renewable solar energy. The company installed solar panels atop a newly renovated Safeway Lifestyle store in Dublin, California and plans to extend the program to nearly two dozen stores as part of a broader renewable energy initiative.

California Congressman Jerry McNerney joined Safeway officials on a tour of the Dublin store's rooftop solar panel array. The unit is currently generating electricity to power the 55,000-square-foot retail facility.

"I applaud Safeway for its commitment to sustainability and for being an environmental leader among California-based companies," said Congressman McNerney. "Their Dublin solar project stands as a model for other companies to invest in the same renewable energy technology in California and elsewhere."

The entire Dublin Safeway facility utilizes renewable energy. The store's on-site retail fuel station already is powered by wind energy.

In 2005 the company transitioned all of its 295 U.S. fuel stations to 100 percent renewable wind energy. Safeway is the largest retail purchaser of green wind energy in California and one of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies purchasing green energy nationwide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The 87,000 megawatt annual purchase of wind energy is enough to power its fuel stations, the Safeway headquarters campuses in Pleasanton and Walnut Creek, all of its San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado stores.

By using solar energy at the Dublin store, Safeway is removing 487,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air, the equivalent of taking 50 passenger cars off the road annually or planting 184 acres of pine trees.

Solar equipment at the Dublin Safeway store and other planned locations will produce approximately 7,500 megawatt hours of electricity per year, enough to provide 20 percent of the stores’ average power usage and up to 48 percent of power usage during the peak hours.

The entire 23-store solar program will remove 10.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the air, the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road annually or planting 4,000 acres of pine trees, the company says.

"Safeway is taking its green power initiative to the next level as we identify additional California store locations for its solar stores program," said Joe Pettus, Safeway senior vice president for fuel and energy. "The investment in renewable energy, both solar and wind makes sense for both the environment and our company."

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,740 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $40.2 billion in 2006.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.