Our Local Kohl's putin' out the PV

100 kw array -- Cool.

 

Good deal! Good for the environment and the economy, and they'll probably turn a profit on it as well.

 

I have to admit that I have this habit of visualizing many prime locations with a solar array on top. All of that wasted bigbox 'real estate' out there is discouraging at times.

 

Apparently they were installed by Sunedison. The article I'm quoting below is 4 years old, do not know if they did less, more, or different stores than planned.

Kohl's Unveils Largest Rooftop Solar Plan In The US | Solar Energy News

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Kohl's Unveils Largest Rooftop Solar Plan In The US
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE:KSS) flipped the switch on a rooftop solar energy system at its Laguna Niguel store as part of the largest planned U.S. photovoltaic solar rollout to date. Michael R. Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, joined Kohl’s to celebrate this significant step toward the building of solar electric systems at 63 of Kohl’s 80 California locations, which will total approximately 25 megawatts (MW). At completion, Kohl’s solar program will represent approximately 15 percent of California’s photovoltaic installations to date.

“Today’s activation marks a significant milestone for Kohl’s. Through our solar introduction, we’re further extending our commitment to green power and making a significant contribution to California’s renewable energy goals,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s executive vice president of logistics.

Kohl’s rooftop solar photovoltaic systems are being built under an agreement with SunEdison, North America’s largest solar energy services provider. Under the agreement, SunEdison manages the rooftop solar energy systems in exchange for Kohl’s commitment to purchase energy from SunEdison. In total, more than 138,000 solar panels are expected to be used when Kohl’s solar installations are complete in 2008.

 

From browsing around the air/satellite photos on Google Maps, I've found a few similar big rooftop installations.

Staples Center in Los Angeles

a large carport next to the Los Angeles convention center
(you can see that one from the 110 freeway, too)

The Long Beach (CA) convention center
(one of the biggest I've found)

The Costco next to the Kohl's in Laguna Niguel that you pointed out

One of the two Costcos in Tustin (the one near the old Marines airbase)

One of the Costcos in Hawthorne (the one next to the 405)

Walmart in Orange

In addition to big stores, I've seen a few private companies and warehouses, most notably Lithographix in Hawthorne

 

Absolutely: store using power mostly during the day and the solar panels should help both to generate electricity and help cool the building.

 

It truely amazes me when I see things like that. I can't see why more stores i.e. Home Depot, Walmart, shipping warehouses etc. aren't doing the same thing. I can understand that the upfront cost is high but nonetheless, its an investment with a payoff. Oddly enough, I got to watch Lucent install a huge solar farm on a building up the street from where I work. I have no idea what size it is but its a huge operation.

I know the building where my mother works wanted to get panels on their roof in addition to adding LED lights and other energy upgrades but it ended up getting blocked from the township. Who would have thought a township would discourage that?

 

I've seen dozens of big box stores in OC that have installed solar panels on their rooftops. Mission Viejo mall, across the freeway has a lot of solar panels. To to the top of the parking garage next to Nordstrom and look over the mall and you'll see all the solar cells.

The newest installation I've seen is the Kaiser Permanente parking lot on the 405NB just passed the 5-405 split (El Toro Y) - they put solar-covered car ports over hundreds of parking spots. It's quite a sight to see.