Walmart Partners with GE to Adopt Energy-Saving LEDs in Stores Worldwide

　　Today Walmart announced several plans to procure energy-saving LED ceiling luminaires for newly opened shopping centers in the U.S., major stores across Asia and Latin America, and ASDA supermarkets in the UK (Walmart's UK business unit). Compared with the lighting sources previously used by the stores, the new fixtures will save 40% of energy consumption, further helping Walmart achieve its goal of reducing the kilowatt-hour (kWh) electricity consumption per square foot of buildings under the group by 20% before 2020. To date, this is the largest procurement deal of LED lighting products between Walmart and GE, and also represents the latest benchmark set by Walmart and GE in pioneering the search for and expansion of innovative energy-saving lighting solutions.

　　"We have been working hard to find and expand cost-effective, high-quality energy-saving LED lighting solutions. Now, through our partnership with GE, this will pave the way for making such solutions the mainstream in the retail industry," said Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart Stores, Inc. "LED has become an integral part of the energy-saving models adopted by our stores, playing a key role in our overall sustainability goals. Equally important, the energy costs saved through these innovative initiatives will help us maintain low prices for the benefit of our many customers."

　　In each building, the lighting area of the main sales floor accounts for approximately 90% of the total lighting area; in the U.S. alone, this initiative will help each store reduce energy consumption by more than 5%. The luminaires purchased in this deal have a longer lifespan than traditional lighting fixtures, which will also significantly reduce maintenance costs.

Installation of GE's new LED ceiling lighting fixtures will begin this month, starting at ASDA supermarkets (a Walmart subsidiary) in the UK. Listed below are the new stores projected by Walmart and GE for 2014 alone, along with the lighting energy savings compared to the total energy consumption of the previous lighting installations:

Brazil: 30 renovated stores; 41% energy savings.

Central America: 10 new stores; 54% to 59% energy savings.

China: 24 new stores, 16 renovated stores; 42% energy savings.

Mexico: 37 new stores; 45% energy savings.

United Kingdom: 10 new stores; saving 45% to 51% of energy consumption.

United States: 30 new stores; saving 15% of energy consumption.

"We have built a successful and long-term partnership with Walmart, strengthening our joint efforts in environmental protection," said Jeff Immelt, GE Chairman and CEO. "In the retail industry, Walmart is a leading company in the pursuit of energy efficiency, and its emphasis on energy saving has enabled the company to save significant electricity costs. We greatly value our long-term partnership with Walmart and are proud to work with them to help reduce their environmental impact."

Walmart and GE have a long-standing history of collaboration, having jointly developed a variety of lighting products to meet Walmart's needs. Walmart pioneered the use of LED systems in retail environments and began adopting LED signage as early as 2003. In 2005, Walmart partnered with GE to launch an LED freezer solution, the first of its kind. In addition, the parking lots of Walmart's stores in the United States and abroad were also among the first in the industry to adopt LED lighting.

The initiative to adopt LED ceiling lighting in U.S. stores is expected to save 340,000 kWh of energy per store, equivalent to savings of more than $34,000 per store per year (calculated at 10.13 cents/kWh). Over the next two years, Walmart will install GE's new LED ceiling lighting in 200 of its new stores, which will save a total of 620 million kWh of electricity over the next 10 years; Walmart plans to pass the savings back to customers through its everyday low-price efforts.

　　The energy savings expected to be achieved over the next ten years are equivalent to a reduction of 327,360 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions; or to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 68,000 vehicles; or to the total annual energy consumption of nearly 30,000 American households.

　　In October 2013, Walmart opened its first large shopping center with all-LED lighting in South Euclid, Ohio; subsequently, based on the results of the pilot program conducted at that shopping center, the company decided to fully install GE LED lighting products. Through this pilot program, Walmart measured the quality and performance of GE lighting products and determined the returns available from investing in LED purchases. The company will adopt various GE lighting technologies across its stores and will use the Lumination IS series luminaires as the primary ceiling lighting fixtures. These luminaires are also part of GE's "Ecomagination" program; GE is committed, through this program, to launching technology solutions that save money and reduce environmental impact.

　　Walmart's increased installation of LED lighting in stores worldwide supports the company's broader energy-saving goals. As another example, Walmart has launched a program aimed at replacing the existing T5 fluorescent lights in its distribution center network with LEDs. With this initiative, combined with the installation of more energy-efficient liquid circulation pumps for some refrigeration systems, Walmart has reduced electricity usage by more than 30 million kilowatt-hours and saved over 2 million US dollars in expenses. The full conversion of the distribution center network to LED is expected to be completed by 2016.