Solar Safeway

JEFF WELLS

Late last month, Safeway continued its pioneering march toward supermarket sustainability by installing a 742-panel solar power system on the roof of a Southern California Pavilions store. The store, located in the town of Simi Valley, is the ninth of 23 Safeway stores in California the company has planned to outfit with panels.

The new 135-kilowatt system should, according to Safeway, provide close to 35% of the store's energy during peak hours, and overall between 15% and 18% annually. All told, the company's 23-store solar panel project is expected to remove 10.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“The investment in renewable energy, both solar and wind, makes sense for both the environment and our company,” said Joe Pettus, senior vice president for fuel and energy with Safeway, in a statement.

Stores set to be outfitted with solar panels were selected because they have relatively new roofs and a high level of sun exposure, according to the company.