Walgreens Goes Geothermal in Chicago

Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) announced the opening of a store in suburban Chicago that uses geothermal heating and cooling. The drugstore chain said it is the first in the industry to use the technology in a retail store. The location, in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Ill., is expected to reduce its energy usage by about 46 percent as a result of the geothermal system. Last year, The Village of Oak Park passed an ordinance requiring any retailer that wants to build a commercial property within its village limits to investigate geothermal energy.

DOE Gives $60 Million To Expand Local Energy Efficiency Efforts

The U.S. Department of Energy announced that 20 communities have been selected for more than $60 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement local energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Local governments, nonprofit organizations and quasi-governmental organizations are among the recipients for the competitive grants, administered under the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program.