Wal-Mart Approves of LED Lights but Remains Unsure About Wind Power
After one year of operating two "experimental stores" in Colorado and Texas, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is sold on at least one energy technology: LED lights. The company has already concluded that the solid-state lights, which use light-emitting diodes (LEDs), "use less electricity, contribute less heat, and have a longer lifespan" than traditional lights. Although Wal-Mart has already been using LEDs for all its building-mounted exterior lit signs for the last two years, the company has now decided to integrate these lights into freezer cases in new Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores nationwide, beginning in January 2007. The benefits of LEDs are multiplied in freezer cases, where heat generated by lighting adds to the load on the freezers. Replacing freezer lights can also be a difficult and energy-consuming task, so the LEDs' longevity is also a benefit.
The company is much less certain about its wind turbines, which have suffered from mechanical problems. However, Wal-Mart hopes to correct the problems and will "continue with the plan to provide these and eventually other stores with renewable power." Wal-Mart is evaluating its two experimental stores for three years with help from DOE: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is monitoring the Aurora, Colorado, store, while the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is monitoring the store in McKinney, Texas. See the Wal-Mart press release.
Oil Companies Plan to Modify and Expand U.S. Refineries
With the U.S. demand for gasoline and other petroleum products continuing to increase, at least three major oil companies are planning to significantly expand their refineries in the United States. BP announced in late September a $3 billion plan to expand its Whiting, Indiana, plant to increase its production capacity by 15 percent, which equals about 1.7 million additional gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel each day. However, the main focus of the Indiana project is to allow the refinery to process heavy crude oil from Canadian oil sands.
Marathon Oil Company is also considering modifying its refineries in Detroit, Michigan, and Catlettsburg, Kentucky, to handle Canadian heavy crude oil. Marathon has also approved a $3.2 billion project to increase the capacity of its Garyville, Louisiana, refinery by nearly three quarters, to a total capacity of 425,000 barrels of oil per day. On Monday, Chevron Corporation joined the fray, announcing plans to expand its refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, by about 15 percent, boosting gasoline production by 750,000 gallons per day. BP and Marathon plan to begin construction next year, while Chevron is aiming at 2008. See the BP press release; the Marathon press releases about the Canadian heavy crude oil and Louisiana refinery projects; and the Chevron press release.
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