Fareway Stores, Inc. and Alliant Energy will break ground soon on a 1-megawatt solar facility in the Boone, Iowa, Industrial Park on six acres adjacent to Fareway’s campus.
The project was announced in a news release Tuesday, April 18.Â
The solar facility will accelerate Alliant Energy’s sustainability goals to eliminate all coal from its generation fleet by 2040 and achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity they generate by 2050.Â
Additionally, Fareway’s ongoing initiative to implement solar can be seen across several store locations including an off-site solar partnership in Faribault, Minnesota; commitments on construction in Kansas City, Missouri, and Norwalk, Iowa; and most recently, a new installation in Ottumwa, Iowa. Where opportunities exist, Fareway is invested in implementing solar projects in partnership with local utilities and other companies.
Among Fareway’s grocery stores are several Quad Cities area stores including Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, and Geneseo, Illinois. The chain also is building a new location in LeClaire, which is slated to open this summer.
Other sustainability initiatives by Fareway include the addition of an electric vehicle charging station network expands across the state. The Boone-based company has partnered to host electric vehicle fast-charging locations in several Iowa store locations including Adel, Clive, Cresco, Des Moines (Fleur), Knoxville, Norwalk, Sheldon, and Sioux City, with more to come.
Primarily along highways, this network of charging stations is intended to serve the traveling motorist with Fareway serving as a host charging site. Not only does this reinforce the commitment to sustainable practices, but it extends the environmental care in the communities Fareway serves.
“We are proud of our tradition and commitment to conserve natural resources,” Fareway CEO Reynolds W. Cramer said in the release. “By partnering on additional energy efficiency initiatives, we are helping build stronger communities and provide direct benefits to our customers and area residents.”
Annually, Fareway recycles:
- 850,000 pallets;
- 12,500 tons of cardboard;
- 400 tons of plastic shrink wrap
- 4.5 million plastic grocery sacks; and
- 5,000 gallons of waste oil.
Since 1955, Fareway has captured heat from in-store refrigeration compressors, reclaiming it to heat the building. Fareway’s green initiatives also include coordinating backhauls to save fuel, and a company-wide food rescue program that provides for more than 900,000 meals annually.
