"solar panels" news and stories

Yesterday, the Stop & Shop supermarket chain announced complete installation of solar panels on eight of its stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. We're guessing this news will elicit one of three reactions: satisfaction that another company has signed on to the reusable energy cause; disinterest because so many already have; or disbelief that any of these mounted plates are worth what they preach.

Many of us have seen the price comparison of what a standard home will save with Energy Star equipment, but imagine what a grocery store, open 24-hours with a 500K-sq-ft paneled roof, can save. Many big name grocery stores like ShopRite, Costco, Walmart, Safeway and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market are starting to see the benefit, too, but it didn't come without technological tweaking and decades of convincing.

It all started back in the 1860s -- actually, right around the time commercial refrigeration was invented -- when a man named Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel started playing with solar cells.

At a new Burger King in Waghäusel, Germany, you can get your Whopper with a side of environmentally responsible energy. The store, developed with the help of a solar energy company called Wirsol Solar AG, uses more than 700 solar panels and other renewable energy sources to supply a third of the restaurant's power.

The green restaurant is part of the burger chain's program of "social responsibility," a push they're calling BK Positive Steps. The company believes strongly that these environmentally friendly stores -- along with their much-touted, high-power broilers already in place in U.S. stores -- are the cornerstone of the chain's future.

The Waghäusel location boasts some pretty impressive stats: The 720 solar panels will generate the equivalent of 53,500 kWh of electricity per year, which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, is the annual power consumption of five U.S. households. A ventilation system captures excessive heat loss and uses it to generate hot water, which conserves 50 percent of annual energy consumption per year. The outdoor Burger King logo has been modified to include a wind turbine, which supplies 2500 KWH of the restaurant's power supply, while LED bulbs cut energy use by more than 55 percent. It's even got a solar paneled recharging station for electric cars.