SPAR Austria now powers 100 of their stores with solar panel roofs

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We love hearing about companies who are taking ownership over their environmental impact and making the switch to renewable energy. This week, we were particularly pleased to hear about a recent milestone reached by SPAR Austria.

Since 2010, SPAR Austria has put a real focus on powering their stores via renewable energy. During November, they added solar panels to the roof of the SPAR Supermarket in Wolkersdorf, Lower Austria, alongside solar storage. This happened to be their 100th solar-powered store in the country! 

During 2019, SPAR’s rooftop solar systems at their stores generated around 4.8 MWh of green electricity, used onsite and bringing a CO2 reduction of around 800 tonnes. SPAR uses their solar energy to power instore cooling, lighting and IT systems. 

They’re not stopping there though, as SPAR Austria currently spends around €1m per year on the expansion of solar energy, and they plan to continue to expand this scheme across the county. With the increase in performance output and affordability of many solar panels, the only way is up!

Hans K. Reisch, the Board Director of SPAR Austria, commented on the company’s lofty climate protection aims, saying: “One of our key goals is to switch to renewable energy entirely. The 100 power plants on the roofs of SPAR stores produce 4.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. The rest of the electricity we need comes from wind, water, and solar power sourced from local energy providers. The best energy is the energy we do not need. Therefore, we are equipping our stores with energy-saving technologies, including LED lighting and heat recovery systems. Compared to SPAR stores that have not been upgraded, these innovative technologies cut energy usage by 50%”

We can only tip our hats to SPAR Austria and hope that many other companies across the world follow suit.

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