A San Francisco REI solar installation.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar installations on three of its Portland-area locations are the latest move by outdoor gear retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) toward its energy efficiency targets.

The Portland stores' PV systems, completed in December 2008, were designed by Suntech America—a subsidiary of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE:STP). They bring to 11 the number of REI locations featuring solar installations, including several in the San Francisco Bay Area. Collectively, the Portland stores are expected to generate about 137,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year which should meet about 17 percent of the buildings' energy needs.

The Kent, Wash.-based retail cooperative is looking to partner with a solar vendor in 2009 to examine the feasibility of installing PV panels on other stores, says REI's energy manager Sharon Im-Lee. However, she doesn't anticipate seeing PV panels on the roofs of every REI location: incentives offered by Oregon and California were key to the installations' feasibility, she says.

Still, REI has set its sights on being carbon neutral by 2020, and is taking steps toward energy efficiency and conservation to meet that goal. "We're just as excited about energy efficiency and conservation," as power generation, Im-Lee says. And with REI stores' large size—about 25,000 square feet on average—it would be extremely difficult to generate enough power without implementing drastic efficiency measures, she says. In 2009, the company plans to retrofit about half its stores with ceramic metal halide spotlights, replace some cooling and heating systems and expand its use of energy management systems.

REI's foray into solar follows an initiative launched by the company in 2006 to create prototype stores to test green building features, such as cool roofs, reclaimed wood and automated lighting systems. The company's first prototype store opened in Boulder, Colo., in late 2007, followed by a second store in Round Rock, Tex., in September 2008, which is part of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design pilot project for retail spaces. In the coming year, the REI says it plans to assess the financial and environmental performance of the two prototype stores before designing a third.