Wal-Mart to go solar to save energy

Wal-Mart's Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott over the next three years he wants to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources, cut energy use in stores by 30 percent and cut fuel consumption in its truck fleet by 25 percent, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

A test store in Texas has been using solar panels and Wal-Mart's truck fleet is being outfitted with plastic skirts to cut wind resistance. Adding one mile per gallon to the fleet can save the mega-retailer $2 million a year, according to Scott.

"If Wal-Mart was a city, they'd be No. 5 in country, so the company's leadership is very important," says Amory Lovins, who heads the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think tank in Snowmass, Colo. "If they help introduce similar efficiencies and green practices throughout their supply chain, it could have a huge effect."

Copyright 2005 by United Press International