Originally published August 4 2005
Wal-Mart experiments with "green" technology
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In an effort to improve its environmental image, Wal-Mart is opening two prototype "green" superstores -- one in Texas and one in Colorado -- that will experiment with the use of "green" technology to conserve energy and resources through experiments like collecting roof rainwater for landscape irrigation and heating parts of the garage with burned waste oil, and after a three-year trial, successful projects may be incorporated to more stores.
Results from the experiments will be measured by independent auditors from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Natural Renewal Energy Laboratory, who will make their findings public, said Don Moseley, head of experimental projects for Wal-Mart.
"The No. 1 rule in retail is to get people in and have them hang around for a while.
In charge of design of the two Wal-Mart stores is LPA, an Irvine architecture firm specializing in green projects.
His favorite experiment is the radiant floor heating installed in some areas including the sometimes chilly maintenance pits in the garage where mechanics service customers' cars.
Tubes below the concrete floor can fill with water heated by burning waste oil from the garage and cooking oil from the store's food service operations.
Other experiments include heat generated by refrigeration equipment being captured and used to heat the water in restroom sinks, said LPA President Dan Heinfeld.
Fabric ducts slung 11 feet high will evenly distribute cool air in a manner expected to save enough electricity to power 70 homes.
Wal-Mart won't say how much the new stores cost to build, though the various experimental design elements did raise the price of the Texas store, Moseley acknowledged.
Overall, the two green stores will get about 8% of their energy from solar and wind power.
Wal-Mart's move into green development may be in part an effort to polish its image, said retail consultant Burt P. Flickinger.
"Wal-Mart has a big black eye with American consumers" for its wage and benefit levels and aggressive expansion program, he said.
In 2001 Wal-Mart agreed to pay a $1-million fine and establish a $4.5-million environmental-management program to settle federal charges that it violated Clean Water Act storm discharge rules at 17 sites in four states.
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