Achieving Zero-Energy in Retail Spaces
The retail sector is the second-highest energy consumer among U.S. commercial buildings, responsible for 25 percent of energy used despite representing only 16 percent of commercial floorspace.
This represents a significant energy and cost-savings opportunity for retail owners, operators and tenants. Market conditions for zero energy are ideal: there are numerous cost-effective opportunities for energy efficiency in retail stores and prices for renewable energy have plummeted. The cost of solar now averages 10-12 cents per kWh, in line with the average electricity rate.
Some retailers are pursuing this opportunity aggressively, pairing energy efficiency measures with onsite renewable energy to approach or achieve zero energy.
Zero Energy and DOE’s Better Buildings Alliance (BBA) offers technical assistance and peer networking for commercial building energy professionals. Through BBA, retailers can participate in Technology Research Teams and share best practices for reducing energy use in specific building systems, including HVAC, lighting, and energy management. The Renewables team helps partners make informed wind solar and storage decisions with resources like the On-Site Energy Storage Decision Guide. For more information on ZEBs and how BBA supports retail partners, visit the Better Buildings Solution Center, where Alliance partners share their best practices.
Retail pharmacy giant and Better Buildings partner Walgreens combined several energy-efficiency and renewable-energy measures in the development of its first zero-energy designed store in Evanston, Illinois. It features LED lighting, ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration, solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines and more. Walgreens plans to use lessons learned at this store in the design and construction of efficiency programs across its portfolio. For example, Walgreens began retrofitting exterior lighting with LEDs in 2017 and incorporated LED fixtures in new store design criteria.
Regency Centers, national shopping center operator and Better Buildings partner, has implemented a solar power purchasing agreement, or PPA, at several locations. Regency installs and maintains a solar array on the shopping center rooftop, offering tenants the option to purchase up to 80 percent of their historical energy use from the array. By selling power to the tenant, Regency recoups its investment in the system. Keli Tiffany, Director of Utilities at Nordstrom, a Regency tenant, says the arrangement is a smart investment decision for them as well, since including solar in their energy portfolio provides insulation from fluctuating utility rates. The solar purchases also reduce Nordstrom’s impact on the environment.
In Spring 2018, the Better Buildings Financing Navigator will debut new financing products tailored for renewables projects. As the retail market evolves, keeping a trim profile is more important than ever. Moving towards zero energy can increase NOI and make a cleaner, leaner business.
1 U.S. Energy Information Administration Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) https://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/
2 Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis https://www.lazard.com/media/438038/levelized-cost-of-energy-v100.pdf
Alison Berry is a sustainability consultant at JDM Associates supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative.
Image from the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Turbine at Walgreen’s Evanston Store
