Texas 7-Eleven Stores to Be Powered by Wind Energy

By Anca Gagiuc

TXU Energy

The convenience-retailing industry behemoth 7-Eleven Inc. announced its 96-month agreement with TXU Energy to purchase 100 percent Texas wind energy for 425 of its Texas stores located in competitive energy markets. The wind energy agreement starts June 1, 2018 and is anticipated to reduce the retailer’s carbon footprint by 6.7 percent while contributing to operating expense savings.

The company committed to reduce its energy footprint in stores and at its store support center in Irving, Texas by 20 percent by 2025. Furthermore, during the past seven years, 7-Eleven has decreased electricity use in store operations by an estimated 21 percent through projects including installation of LED lighting, energy management systems and high-efficiency HVAC units.

“This agreement is beneficial for 7-Eleven on several fronts,” Ben Tison, 7-Eleven’s senior vice president of development, said in prepared remarks. “Wind energy is a renewable, more cost-effective resource that will lower the carbon footprint of these stores as well as operating costs. Our customers, particularly Millennials and the younger Generation Z, care about sustainability and reducing environmental impacts, and they’re paying attention to what companies are doing.”

TXU Energy will support 7-Eleven saving even more by providing energy efficiency rebate incentives through its TXU GreenBack^SM program. These incentives will enable 7-Eleven to fund and pilot new energy efficient technologies that can be used throughout its portfolio of facilities.

“Our goal was to make sure that we were helping 7-Eleven reach its sustainability goals,” said Gabe Castro, vice president of business for TXU Energy. “We were able to do that by helping them through the process to evaluate all of the options available, and then customizing a complete solution to help them reach those goals.”

Image courtesy of TXU Energy