Wal-Mart to open more efficient stores

BENTONVILLE, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that it is opening its second generation High-Efficiency stores that will use 25% less energy than the average Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The first store will open in Romeoville, Ill., on Jan. 23, the company reported, and will combine elements for the first generation of High-Efficiency stores with new state-of-the art technologies.

Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations, made the announcement at the National Retail Federation’s 97th Annual Convention & Expo in New York City. 

“These stores are another solid step toward achieving our environmental commitments,” said Leslie Dach, evp of corporate affairs and government relations, speaking at the National Retail Federations convention in New York.  “We will continue to find new ways to build stores that have a reduced impact on the environment and ultimately reach a day when every new store is 25% to 30% more energy efficient than it was in 2005.”

Wal-Mart said they were able to improve energy efficiency in its stores by utilizing a new secondary refrigeration loop combined with an advanced water-source heating, cooling and refrigeration system. The technology was tested in Wal-Mart’s Experimental Stores and uses a non-refrigerant-based solution to cool refrigerator and freezer cases, resulting in a 90% reduction in refrigerant. The the second genetation High-Efficiency stores represent the first time secondary loop technology has been paired with a water-source heating, cooling and refrigeration system in the United States.