While much of the news focuses on residential energy efficiency, it’s important to remember that the biggest gains can be had at large-scale commercial facilities. Often the biggest energy users in a community, these high-demand customers can affect big changes by making even the smallest modifications to their use patterns and facilities. Of course, new structures designed for efficiency can result in even greater efficiency, as can retrofits and upgrades of existing buildings.
For an example of commercial energy efficiency, one need look no further than Whole Foods. We’ve covered the energy efficiency and onsite power efforts of Whole Foods Corp. in the past (“Any Time, Any Place”, “A Family of Technologies”), and even covered the company’s latest efforts in the May/June issue of the magazine (“The Future of Cogen”).
Now the national food retailer has announced that it plans to cut energy consumption by 25% per square foot by 2015. That reduction will be accomplished in a variety of ways, including:
* New stores specifically designed to be more energy efficient, including two new facilities: Colorado’s South Glenn store, and its newest location in Santa Barbara, CA.
* Retrofits of existing stores that will include the installation of smart refrigerator systems, energy-efficient lighting, advanced HVAC, and energy management systems.
* Onsite power generation using fuel cells, wind turbines, and waste-to-energy facilities.
* The purchase of renewable energy credits from wind farm operators, in order to offset remaining electricity consumption.
So what do you think? Is it this kind of private action that is best suited for the integration of onsite power for energy-efficient facilities? Should there be more incentives and rebates to encourage similar corporate behavior?