Fresh & Easy supermarkets get fresh with solar

Supermarket chain installing 536 kilowatts of solar at 10 storesIt should be no surprise that a supermarket would understand the value of the sun. After all, the majority of the products they sell rely on the sun to make them grow, whether it be grain that feeds livestock or is used in flour or fresh vegetables. So it should be no surprise that more supermarkets are adopting solar as a power source for their stores. Most recently Fresh & Easy, completed 10 photovoltaic installations on its markets, primarily in Arizona.

Fresh & Easy revealed the latest solar installation, a 39-kilowatt array in Phoenix, on Aug. 25. It was the final of 10 systems with REC’s Peak Energy panels that the company now owns on its stores.

The company joins a growing number of supermarket chains that have installed solar on markets. Just two weeks ago, Kroger bit into the world of solar with its first two installations at two of its Smith's Food & Drug Stores in New Mexico. Other grocers, like Seaside Market and O’Briens’ Market, both in California, have added solar to store rooftops.

Still, Fresh & Easy may have installed solar on more stores than other chains. In all, the company installed 536 kilowatts on its stores through a contract with REC Solar. Nine of the stores were in Arizona.

“One store in Los Angeles was part of this project,” said Fresh & Easy spokesperson Brendan Wonnacott.

The systems will meet approximately 20 percent of the stores' energy production and produce 746,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.

“Projected savings [will] vary depending on the cost of energy and vary from store to store,” Wonnacott said.

The installations were part of larger efficiency retrofits to stores.

“On average, Fresh & Easy stores use 30 percent less energy than a typical supermarket,” the company said in a press release.

The company said it also has more stores certified under EPA's GreenChill program than any other company.

While this project with REC is now completed, there could be other opportunities for solar at Fresh & Easy stores, according to Wonnacott.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to expand on the green front,” he said, “so more solar is an option down the line.”

That could impact a lot more stores. After all, the company has a total of 177 stores.

Image courtesy of Fresh & Easy.