Walgreens announced plans last week to build one of the nation's first net-zero retail stores. The Evanston, Ill., location will utilize solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, LED lighting and ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration to produce energy equal to or greater than the building consumes.
The Chicago-area location will allow convenient access for Walgreens engineers based at the company’s headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., to measure the store’s performance for an entire year to determine if the store reaches its goal of net zero energy use.
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
- 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.
Over the past year, Walgreens engineers have worked with the city of Evanston and vendors, including Trane, CREE Lighting, Acuity Lighting, Cooper Lighting, CalStar Products, GE Lighting, Geothermal International, SoCore Energy, Wing Power and Camburas and Theodore Architects.
(http://news.walgreens.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5717)
Related Stories
| Dec 19, 2011
HGA renovates Rowing Center at Cornell University
Renovation provides state-of-the-art waterfront facility.
| Dec 19, 2011
Chicago’s Aqua Tower wins international design award
Aqua was named both regional and international winner of the International Property Award as Best Residential High-Rise Development.
| Dec 19, 2011
Summit Design+Build selected as GC for Chicago recon project
The 130,000 square foot building is being completely renovated.
| Dec 19, 2011
USGBC welcomes new board directors?
Board responsible for articulating and upholding the vision, values, mission of organization.
| Dec 19, 2011
Davis Construction breaks ground on new NIAID property
The new offices will total 490,998 square feet in a 10-story building with two wings of 25,000 square feet each.
| Dec 19, 2011
Survey: Job growth driving demand for office and industrial real estate in Southern California
Annual USC Lusk Center for Real Estate forecast reveals signs of slow market recovery.
| Dec 16, 2011
Goody Clancy-designed Informatics Building dedicated at Northern Kentucky University
The sustainable building solution, built for approximately $255-sf, features innovative materials and intelligent building systems that align with the mission of integration and collaboration.
| Dec 16, 2011
Stalco Construction converts Babylon, N.Y. Town Hall into history museum
The project converted the landmark structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places into the Town of Babylon History Museum at Old Town Hall.
| Dec 14, 2011
Belfer Research Building tops out in New York
Hundreds of construction trades people celebrate reaching the top of concrete structure for facility that will accelerate treatments and cures at world-renowned institution.
| Dec 14, 2011
Tyler Junior College and Sika Sarnafil team up to save energy
Tyler Junior College wanted a roofing system that wouldn’t need any attention for a long time.
