Business & Tech

Walgreens' Evanston Location Featured in the 'New York Times'

Walgreens' new store at 635 Chicago Ave. expects to have the 'net zero energy store' open by Thanksgiving, New York Times reported.

Walgreen’s new store in Evanston was featured in the New York Times Tuesday for the company’s effort to create the first “Net Zero Energy” store, which features elements designed to produce the same amount of energy as the store consumes, if not more.

The Evanston store replaces an existing store at 635 Chicago Ave. and will include two wind-turbines, more than 800 roof-top solar panels and LED lighting. Builders will obtain geothermal energy by drilling 550 feet below ground, to tap into more constant temperatures that can be used to heat or cool the store during winter and summer.

Walgreens engineers estimate that the store will use 200,000 kilowatt hours per year of electricity and generate 256,000 kilowatt hours per year.

The new store is being built by recycling more than 85 percent of the demolished store’s bricks, concrete and metal, but is twice as expensive to build than a typical new store, the newspaper reported. Company executives told the newspaper that they expect to recoup the extra costs from reductions in the store’s energy use and by applying for tax credits and rebates.

The net zero concept is part of the company’s overall plan to reduce energy use by 20 percent by 2020 across all of its 8,000-plus stores, the New York Times reported.

“We are investing in developing a net-zero store so we can learn the best way to bring these features to our other stores,” vice president of facilities Thomas Connolly said a statement.

Walgreens hopes the store will be certified as a LEED Platinum building, meaning it would meet the highest levels of energy efficiency under U.S. Green Building Council regulations.

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