Hannaford’s Forest Avenue supermarket in Portland was honored Wednesday for its energy savings. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Hannaford an Energy star certificate for its top-to-bottom effort to conserve energy.
The supermarket has been re-using waste heat from refrigeration units for space heating, maximizing use of natural light and upgrading its fleet to save on fuel.
“We estimate that this store uses 42% less energy than a similarly performing grocery store of this size. We estimate this saves Hannaford on the order of $240,000 a year and prevents more than five million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere,” said EPA Regional Administrator Stephen Perkins.
Nine other hannaford stores in Maine, and 16 across New England, have also won the Energy Star certificate. The EPA says combined, they’ve saved $28 million in energy bills compared to average supermarkets.