The Home Depot big box retailer says it is adding solar energy systems on the roofs of 50 of its 2,282 stores.

The projects will reduce electricity grid demand by as much as 30-35 percent annually at each store. The average store roof, at approximately 104,000 square feet, will hold 1,000 panels.

The retailer is working with Current, powered by GE, on 20 solar installations at stores in New Jersey, as well as eight stores in Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Another 22 stores in California and New York will receive solar. Six of those will use Tesla Powerpacks to store energy and dispatch additional power as needed.

The company's current alternative and renewable portfolio includes:

  • Solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) in Delaware and Massachusetts
  • Fuel cells at more than 170 stores and distribution centers
  • The Los Mirasoles Wind Farm northeast of McAllen, Texas, announced this January
  • The Zopiloapan Wind Farm located in central Mexico, added this June

The solar addition will bring the company's alternative energy footprint to more than 130 megawatts (MW) as it pursues the goal of using 135 MW of alternative and renewable energy by 2020.

Construction on the selected stores will continue throughout 2017.