The store will be located in Evanston, at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Keeney Street. It plans to generate electricity and reduce its usage by more than 40% through several technologies.
The store will feature more than 800 roof-top solar panels; two wind turbines; geothermal energy obtained by drilling 550-feet into the ground below the store, where temperatures are more constant and can be tapped to heat or cool the store in winter and summer; LED lighting and daylight harvesting; carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment; and energy-efficient building materials.
Walgreens is targeting LEED Platinum certification for the new store and also plans to enter it into the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge. The store will be Walgreens’ second showcase project in the Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge.
Walgreens currently operates two stores that have achieved a LEED certification level of Gold; 150 stores utilising solar power; a store in Oak Park, Illinois using geothermal energy; a distribution centre in Waxahachie, Texas, that generates energy though the use of wind; and 400 locations with electric vehicle charging stations.
Walgreens stores use 25 watt fluorescent lamps, LED cooler and freezer lighting and energy management systems in more than 5,000 locations. In addition, 15 Walgreens distribution centres have achieved net zero waste.
