Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will provide energy audits of state capitol complexes and recommendations for energy efficiency improvements as part of a new public-private partnership with the National Governors Association.
"Greening State Capitols" will include a two-day auditing process in which Wal-Mart will send a team of engineering experts to capitol facilities to analyze lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, programmable technologies and building structure. After the audit engineers will offer estimated costs, as well as the potential energy savings and carbon dioxide reductions of potential efficiency upgrades.
"We at Wal-Mart are committed to sharing what we learn about reducing energy use and increasing building efficiencies," said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "By working with the NGA in a collaborative manner, we can help accelerate the deployment of new technologies and best practices while saving states money and protecting the environment."
"State and local governments spend more than $11 billion on energy every year and those costs are growing rapidly," said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, chairman of the National Governors Association. "States need to lead by example and the NGA is excited to partner with Wal-Mart and use its expertise to improve energy efficiency and save money at state capitol buildings across the nation."
The National Governors Association will help identify and recruit state participants. Once a state is selected, it will identify a team of four to five experts to assist in the energy audit and implement the resulting recommendations. Within one year of the audits completion, participating states are asked to provide the NGA Center for Best Practices with a report of actions taken and resulting savings. NGA will catalogue these results for distribution.
Wal-Mart engineers will only recommend technologies with a return on investment within five years, unless a state specifically asks for a different time frame. At a state’s request, Wal-Mart will use its procurement capabilities to attract bids from interested companies and facilitate installation of the recommended technologies.
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