Target Corp. has unveiled its most sustainable store to date – one that will produce more renewable energy than it needs to power its operations.
The store, a retrofit of its existing location in Vista, California, is the retailer’s first net-zero energy store, and will serve as a testing site for sustainability-minded innovations, providing insights to help inform future Target store designs.
The site will generate renewable energy through 3,420 solar panels that have been installed across its roof and newly installed carport canopies. It is expected to produce up to 10 per cent more renewable energy annually than it needs to operate. It can transmit the surplus each year back to the local power grid. (Target has applied for net-zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute.)
The building also features numerous innovations to further reduce emissions, such as powering its HVAC heating through rooftop solar panels instead of natural gas. Additionally, the store switched to carbon dioxide refrigeration, a natural refrigerant, that Target will scale chain-wide by 2040 to reduce its direct operations’ emissions by 20 per cent.
