Big commercial interests have finally come to realize the importance of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and are switching to alternate energy sources for power supply. In the annual shareholders meeting Costco, the seller of ground beefs and rotisserie chickens assured its shareholders that its retail stores are switching over to solar energy to meet their energy needs.
Costco will install skylights and solar panels in its warehouse clubs. Already six of its stores in California and Hawaii have solar panels installed. The high cost of installing solar panels that is around $745,000 per store is not acting as a deterrent for the company. Costco is also resorting to recycling of solid wastes and is even re-engineering the designs of cashews tubs from round to rectangular tubs to utilize more space in the trucks for shipment – less trucks used for transportation means less carbon dioxide emission.
It is hoped that other companies big or small follow Costco to reduce the carbon footprints on our planet. Small entities might find the high costs of solar panel an impediment but bigger companies can afford this extra cost. Increased demand and wider use of solar panels can help in bringing down their costs in the future more so if governments encourage their installation by permitting tax rebates and subsidies.
Source: Seattle Times
