The Home Depot is seeking ways to reduce our use of the traditional energy grid which generates power through the burning of fossil fuels. We are instead looking to generate some power of our own through rooftop solar systems and our investment in the renewable power grid which supports wind and solar sources.
Why it Matters
According to the U.S. EPA, the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity accounts for one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Alternative Energy Fuels Our Future
In 2021 The Home Depot announced its pledge to have 100% renewable electricity for all Home Depot facilities worldwide by 2030. It’s an expansion of our previous commitment to buy or produce 335 megawatts of renewable or alternative energy by 2035.
Harnessing power from the sun will be crucial to our success, and we anticipate about three-quarters of our alternative and renewable energy capacity will come from solar by the end of 2023.
In keeping with our goals, we’ve announced plans to purchase solar power from three facilities providing a collective 225 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, enough to power 450 stores.
- 75 megawatts of solar energy generated by Enel Green Power in Haskell County, Texas, will come online in 2021.
- 100 megawatts from a national Grid solar facility in Denton County, Texas, is scheduled to arrive in 2022.
- 50 megawatts from what will be one of the largest solar facilities in the U.S. – Invenergy’s complex of solar arrays stretching across three northeast Texas counties – will be available in 2023.
Meanwhile, our contracts with solar energy providers in Delaware, Massachusetts and Minnesota support the addition of new solar power to the grid in these areas.
Harnessing Wind Energy
Wind energy is another powerful source of renewable energy for our facilities. The energy capacity we purchase from the Los Mirasoles Wind Farm in McAllen, Texas, is enough wind power to run 120 Home Depot stores.
Rooftop Solar Farms
In addition to reducing our use of the traditional energy grid, The Home Depot is producing its own energy through rooftop solar farms. At the end of 2020, solar farms were operating atop 71 U.S. stores – up from 47 stores in 2019. Another 46 rooftop solar projects began development in 2021.
To learn how we are taking measures to reduce our energy consumption, click here to read about our energy-efficient stores.
