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The Wal-Mart Foundation plans to save schools money and teach children about renewable energy. This morning, the philanthropic arm of the world’s largest retailer announced a donation of $1.2 million to the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project to help install solar power systems on 20 schools in five cities across the country.
Schools in Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Minneapolis and Seattle will receive solar arrays. According to Walmart, each system will generate approximately 150,000 kWh of solar electricity, save each school $15,000 annually, and prevent more than 100 tons of greenhouse gases from emission into the atmosphere. NEED will work with school districts in each city to determine exactly which schools are best candidates for solar.
All of the solar panels to be used will be manufactured in the United States, maximizing the positive effect of the projects to local communities and America, including the creation and continuation of green jobs. 
Accompanying the solar installations will be hands-on energy kits and a curriculum for teachers so that students can understand energy consumption and resources.
Walmart maintains a strong, if sometimes questionable, commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency. The retailer has a goal of being completely powered by renewable energy and has several pilot solar projects underway in California and Hawaii. However, the store has been called out on a few occasions for trying to flout energy efficiency regulations on some of its California stores because of the cost of their implementation.
Of course, in those cases, lawsuits were settled with, among other things, Walmart’s promise to install three 250-kW rooftop PV systems. So all’s well that ends well, I suppose. Or, if America’s biggest big-box retailer is true to its word, just the beginning.
Photo Credit: they should do that
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