Walgreens to build first Net Zero Energy store north of Chicago

[dmcowen674]

3-17-2013

http://hothardware.com/News/Walgree...-with-Solar-Wind-and-Geothermal-Technologies/

Walgreens To Build First Self-Powered Retail Store with Solar, Wind, and Geothermal Technologies



The company announced plans for the first net zero energy retail store.


The store is slated to be built at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Keeney Street in Evanston, Illinois, where an existing Walgreens is currently being demolished. The technologies Walgreens is plotting to implement in this new super-green store will include solar panels and wind turbines to generate power; geothermal technology for heat; and efficient energy consumption with LED lighting, daylight harvesting, and “ultra-high-efficiency” refrigeration.


What’s truly impressive about this retail store is that it will actually generate more power than it consumes. Engineering estimates suggest that the location will produce 256,000 kilowatt hours per year while using just 200,000.

 

[dmcowen674]

This poses bad news for the average citizen.

Com-Ed will no doubt raise rates to make up for the shortfall from Businesses

 

[Newbian]

I wonder how much this costs compared to building a normal one.

Hopefully they show the difference.

 

[LTC8K6]

I wonder how much this costs compared to building a normal one.

Hopefully they show the difference.

Yeah, what's the ROI?

The estimates are usually way off when they are trying to sell something.

 

[Socio]

This poses bad news for the average citizen.

Com-Ed will no doubt raise rates to make up for the shortfall from Businesses

It would be quite easy for power companies to lobby (buy off) local government to protect themselves.

In fact if this is a success I would not be surprised if all of a sudden we see new local zone laws pop up all over the nation restricting or making it prohibitive for companies and private dwellings to follow suit.

 

[FaaR]

Yeah, what's the ROI?

The ROI will be being able to sustain our current level of development and technology for more than a few more generations.

Are you happy with that?

 

[shortylickens]

This poses bad news for the average citizen.

Com-Ed will no doubt raise rates to make up for the shortfall from Businesses

I dont even think that should be our main concern.

We should be more worried about the monopoly the AMA has on medicine. Thats the cause of our out of control health costs.

 

[Genx87]

This poses bad news for the average citizen.

Com-Ed will no doubt raise rates to make up for the shortfall from Businesses

Im convinced you could win the lottery and complain about it.

 

[shortylickens]

Im convinced you could win the lottery and complain about it.

I once had a threesome and complained about it.
Both girls were stupid and drunk.

 

[LTC8K6]

The ROI will be being able to sustain our current level of development and technology for more than a few more generations.

Are you happy with that?

I don't know what that means.

Is the building actually "green" or not? If it's just a heavily subsidized feel good building, then I'd rather they just built a regular energy efficient building.

 

[K1052]

Yeah, what's the ROI?

The estimates are usually way off when they are trying to sell something.

In this case they don't care, they are using it as a test bed for a ton of new technology to see if it's worthwhile (saves money) and for the PR. Even if they only implement a couple of the ideas the company could save lots of money across some 8,000 stores.

Walgreens in general has been upping their game the last few years design wise and branching out in their urban flagship stores.

 

[FaaR]

I don't know what that means.

It means - in a perhaps opaque, somewhat roundabout way, admittedly - that we currently consume energy at an unsustainable rate. We will run out of easily harvestable energy sources soon; not tomorrow or even in the next few decades probably. But still soon, historically. Which means we'll have to start changing our behavior, quit looking at everything from a "ROI" perspective, because ROI is what got us where we are now in the first place.

We need to think about the future viability of us as a species, rather than just the next quarterly report.

Is the building actually "green" or not?

The OP seems to claim the building is a net producer of energy, so it should be, provided the same care was taken during its construction.

 

[cybrsage]

Im convinced you could win the lottery and complain about it.

He would suddenly be one of those evil rich people he hates so much. He would be forced to leave the US forever - maybe even be killed for being rich.

 

[Genx87]

He would suddenly be one of those evil rich people he hates so much. He would be forced to leave the US forever - maybe even be killed for being rich.

I think he would complain about the taxes on free money.

 

[Matt1970]

Im convinced you could win the lottery and complain about it.

By his own standards he would need to distribute it equally to the poor or leave the country.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

It would be quite easy for power companies to lobby (buy off) local government to protect themselves.

In fact if this is a success I would not be surprised if all of a sudden we see new local zone laws pop up all over the nation restricting or making it prohibitive for companies and private dwellings to follow suit.

In 1978 I had a bumper sticker that read;
Welcome to San Diego, Owned and Operated by SDGE
Who do you think is really behind the installation of smart meters, and is
ENFORCED by the police? We were also billed monthly, even if the power was off.

 

[glenn1]

I wonder how much this costs compared to building a normal one.

Hopefully they show the difference.

Subsidies from the Feds and their fetish for Solyndra-style boondoggles might actually reduce Walgreen's costs below "standard" construction; similar to how GE building "Eco-Star" appliances helps them pay a very low federal corporate income tax rate.

I also wouldn't be shocked if Obama's administration provided a "grant" to help defray the costs, or an Illinois legislator inserted an earmark into legislation basically giving the money to Walgreens to build this "store of the future."

 

[Londo_Jowo]

By his own standards he would need to distribute it equally to the poor or leave the country.

Then he would be pissed even more as he couldn't buy his own refinery and teach the oil company's how to properly run one.

 

[K1052]

Subsidies from the Feds and their fetish for Solyndra-style boondoggles might actually reduce Walgreen's costs below "standard" construction; similar to how GE building "Eco-Star" appliances helps them pay a very low federal corporate income tax rate.

I also wouldn't be shocked if Obama's administration provided a "grant" to help defray the costs, or an Illinois legislator inserted an earmark into legislation basically giving the money to Walgreens to build this "store of the future."

So you're just going to make bullshit up then?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

It will be interesting to see how this works out considering what the temperatures are in Evanston during the winter.

http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5717

Walgreens plans to generate electricity and reduce its usage by more than 40 percent through several technologies in the store including:

• more than 800 roof-top solar panels,
• two wind turbines,
• geothermal energy obtained by drilling 550-feet into the ground below the store, where temperatures are more constant and can be tapped to heat or cool the store in winter and summer,
• LED lighting and daylight harvesting,
• carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment,
• and energy efficient building materials.

Engineering estimates -- which can vary due to factors such as weather, store operations and systems performance -- indicate that the store will use 200,000 kilowatt hours per year of electricity while generating 256,000 kilowatt hours per year.

 

[FaaR]

It will be interesting to see how this works out considering what the temperatures are in Evanston during the winter.

It's actually not that difficult to build houses that are entirely passively heated and function well just from waste heat from human beings and their electrical equipment, even in wintertime sub-arctic conditions.

...But then again we could just regress and install coal-fired furnaces in every house. If it worked in the 1800s, it'll work today as well won't it!

 

[Londo_Jowo]

It's actually not that difficult to build houses that are entirely passively heated and function well just from waste heat from human beings and their electrical equipment, even in wintertime sub-arctic conditions.

Yet those places don't have customer's opening the doors letting the warm or cool air out and being replaced by the extreme conditions on the other side. I'm somewhat optimistic that this will work, just not sure if it will be as efficient as Walgreens/designers estimate.

...But then again we could just regress and install coal-fired furnaces in every house. If it worked in the 1800s, it'll work today as well won't it!

When all else fails post some asinine response.

 

[cybrsage]

The winter, and the constantly opening and closing doors, do pose a problem. I wonder if they took that into account.


EDIT: When I first read the thread title, I thought they were talking about NetZero, the Internet dial up company...

 

[Newbian]

The winter, and the constantly opening and closing doors, do pose a problem. I wonder if they took that into account.


EDIT: When I first read the thread title, I thought they were talking about NetZero, the Internet dial up company...

Maybe they have the double set of doors like a lot of big commercial places do so the room that needs to be heated up more often is much smaller.

 

[K1052]

The winter, and the constantly opening and closing doors, do pose a problem. I wonder if they took that into account.

Walgreen's is based in IL (less than 30 minutes from Evanston). I think they are aware it gets cold here.