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The Raley's in Petaluma is only the second supermarket in the country attain gold certification in the nearly 2-year-old EPA program. A Cub Foods store in Saint Paul, Minn., was awarded the inaugural gold rating in October.
Raley's plans to hold its grand opening of the Petaluma store on Earth Day. Keilly Witman of the EPA's Stratospheric Protection Division in Washington, D.C., will be on hand for the ceremony.
"With state-of-the-art store design and some of the most advanced refrigeration, lighting and air systems across the nation, this new site operates at incredibly efficient levels by harnessing the power of natural elements like sunlight, water and air, decreasing a significant amount of air emissions and savings thousands of gallons of water each month," Raley's Senior Director of Facilities Ed Estberg said in a statement.
Estberg is pictured below with the refrigeration compressor system in the new Petaluma store.
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Among the new store's key green efforts, which are highlighted in a company video, are its:
• Use of glycol coolants and CO2 as secondary coolants to regulate temperatures and decrease refrigerant use. Almost 3,000 pounds of refrigerant is a typical draw for operating systems. Raley's says its new store requires only 1,800 pounds of refrigerant, a 40 percent reduction. Fewer than four retailers in the country use secondary coolants, according to the company.
• Projected savings of 85,000 gallons of water a month, which represents a 85 percent decrease compared to usage at a comparably sized conventionally built store. Raley's developed a dual medium condenser and the condensers are being used at the new store and three other sites, saving the company 340,000 gallons of water a month. The sites are futher cutting energy costs because, in moving away from traditional evaporative condensers, stores consume less electricity, the company said.
• Use of natural and efficient lighting systems to reduce energy use and extend the life of eco-friendly light bulbs. Use of LEDs in track lighting, freezer cases triggered by motion sensors and exterior canopy lights and signage is expected to cut energy consumption by 20 percent. The LEDs last more than 10 years, and bulbs used in the new store's induction lighting system are expected to last 27 years. Raley's says it is the first grocery chain to use such an array of lighting elements at a single store
Raley's is privately held and based in West Sacramento, California. The company has four chains: Raley's, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source. The stores are in Northern California and Nevada.
Raley's joined the EPA's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership program this past January.
Images courtesy of Raley’s.
