Kohl’s named as 2010 EPA Green Power Partner of the Year

Menomonee Falls, Wis. Kohl’s Department Stores was recognized Wednesday with its second Green Power Partner of the Year honor at the Green Power Leadership Awards held in Portland, Ore., as part of the annual Renewable Energy Markets Conference.

The awards are co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy and the Center for Resource Solutions and recognize the country’s leading green power purchasers for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of green power sources. The Green Power Partner of the Year award recognizes partners who distinguish themselves through their green power purchase, leadership, overall strategy and overall impact on the green power market.

This is the second year Kohl’s has been named EPA Green Power Partner of the Year. Kohl’s has also received EPA Green Power Partnership recognition for on-site generation and green power purchasing. In 2010, Kohl’s purchased more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy, a 60% increase over the company’s 2009 green power purchase and enough to meet 100% of the company’s purchased electricity use.

“Since joining the EPA Green Power Partnership in 2006, Kohl’s has shown consistent leadership by increasing our commitment to renewable energy year after year,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s executive VP store planning and logistics. “Embracing the use of renewable energy was a natural fit for our overall goal to leave a smaller environmental footprint. Kohl’s dedication to innovation in on-site solar power generation and the purchase of renewable energy credits demonstrate our continued focus on energy management as an important component of our sustainability initiatives.”

As the largest retail host of solar power in North America, Kohl’s currently operates 100 solar locations in seven states. In September, the company announced plans to expand its solar program into its eighth state, Pennsylvania. Depending on the geographic location, solar provides 20-50% of the energy provided to the Kohl’s location.