Target Aims for 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2030

Image courtesy of Target

Target has announced plans to power 100 percent of its U.S. operations with renewable energy by 2030. The commitment applies to stores, distribution centers and offices.

The first milestone the company has set is to generate 60 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2025. To do so, Target is investing in solar and wind projects around the country. The retailer estimates it currently uses roughly 22 percent renewable energy.

Expanding renewable fleet

Most recently, the company signed power purchase agreements with Leeward Renewable Energy for the 80-megawatt Lone Tree Wind Project in Illinois—a project slated for completion in 2020—and with Engie for Sand Fork Solar in Texas, a facility with total capacity of 200 megawatts, 89MW of which will be provided to Target upon completion in 2021. Combined, these two developments are estimated to generate approximately 556,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy, which is enough to power 280 Target stores annually.

SEIA’s Solar Means Business 2017—a report that observed corporate customers that pledged to transition to 100 percent renewable energy—had Target on the top spot in its rankings based on installed capacity. Since then, the company has made additional upgrades to its facilities, including the installation of rooftop solar panels at 500 of its locations by 2020 and the addition of electric vehicle charging stations at more than 100 sites across more than 20 states. Furthermore, the company has added LED lights across nearly all its fleet of stores—more than 1,800 stores—which has reduced energy usage by 10 percent.