- The solution provider for the Carrefour chain is EDP Energia Polska.
- By the end of this year, Carrefour will have a total of 35% of stores in Poland using photovoltaic solutions.
In line with the Carrefour Group’s long-term goal, announced in November 2023 and part of the global “Carrefour 2026” plan, the chain intends to radically reduce electricity consumption in all its stores worldwide. The company has committed to reducing its consumption by 20% by 2026, as well as to using real estate to produce photovoltaic energy and building 4.5 million m2 of solar panels by 2026.
13 photovoltaic installations on the roofs of Carrefour supermarkets
Carrefour Polska, in cooperation with EDP Energia Polska – a supplier of photovoltaic solutions for business, has just completed another stage of investment in photovoltaic systems in our country. As part of the project, 13 photovoltaic installations were created on the roofs of supermarkets belonging to the chain, with a total capacity of 650 kWp. This energy is used to power Carrefour stores and allows the company to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 448 tons per year. By the end of this year, Carrefour plans to use energy from the sun in 35% of its hyper- and supermarkets throughout the country.
– In implementing its sustainable development strategy, Carrefour Polska is taking active steps to permanently reduce electricity consumption in its stores, as well as to adapt equipment to applicable standards and increasingly stringent regulations regarding CO2 emissions. Our long-term goal is also to significantly increase the use of energy from renewable sources – says Sławomir Gomoliński, Asset Director of Carrefour Polska.
– Cooperation with EDP has allowed us to expand our photovoltaic system by another dozen or so locations and a capacity of almost 650 kWp. By the end of this year, Carrefour plans to use solar energy in 35% of its hyper- and supermarkets, which will generate a total of about 8% of the annual consumption of all of our chain's own stores in Poland – adds Sławomir Gomoliński.
Solar energy is a cost-effective solution for all types of businesses
– We are pleased to see the growing involvement of companies in Poland in projects that make business more sustainable. Carrefour's investment is another step towards fulfilling our mission, which is to support the energy transformation of the Polish economy. Our cooperation with Carrefour confirms that solar energy is not only good for the environment, but is also a profitable solution for all types of business – comments Ireneusz Kulka, Country Manager EDP Energia Polska.
The first Carrefour Polska photovoltaic installation based on solar energy recovery was installed on the roof of a hypermarket in Zgorzelec in 2017.
Carrefour installs twilight sensors
Investments in photovoltaics are not the only actions taken by Carrefour Polska to reduce electricity consumption in stores. The company also regularly installs twilight sensors to automatically reduce lighting on sunny days, installs closed refrigerators and refrigerated counters to reduce energy loss during cooling, and recovers heat from refrigeration. Other actions aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions include:
LED lighting
Traditional lighting in all Carrefour Polska super- and hypermarkets has been replaced with LED lamps. This solution helps reduce electricity consumption for lighting stores by about 20-30 percent.
Free cooling and heating system
Innovative geothermal installations operate in 5 Carrefour stores: in Sosnowiec, Zamość, Olsztyn, Gdańsk and Warsaw. The use of a system that uses groundwater temperature to lower or increase the air temperature in the building allows for reducing energy consumption by up to 40%.
Environmentally friendly refrigeration system
Refrigeration systems using freons (HFCs) in over 50 stores of the chain have been replaced with environmentally friendly installations using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. The use of CO2 allows to achieve very low temperatures and is safe for the environment, people and products, while reducing the energy consumption used for cooling by an average of 30% to 40%. Such systems are installed in all new Carrefour stores.
