WASHINGTON — Home Depot will install solar panels on store rooftops in the District and five states, including Maryland, a move that will cut local utility demand by about a third.
General Electric solar division Current and Tesla Inc. will install the solar panels on rooftops at 50 Home Depot locations, creating what it calls mini solar farms out of unused rooftops.
Financial terms of the purchase agreements with GE and Tesla weren’t disclosed.
The solar systems will reduce the retailer’s electricity grid at stores where they are installed by 30 to 35 percent a year, the equivalent of powering 2,300 average U.S. homes for a year.
In addition to the District and Maryland, installations will also be made at stores in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and California.
A total of 16 stores in Maryland and the District will be part of the initial solar project.
Home Depot is aiming for an alternative and renewable energy footprint of 135 megawatts by 2020.
