Morrisville mayor: Let’s solarize the Triangle. One Walmart store at a time.

Nearly the entire country is slogging through another stiflingly hot summer season. In the Triangle it has been no different. This is becoming a new normal: Across the planet, 2021 was the sixth-hottest year on record and 2022 is shaping up to be similar.

The science is clear: The longer we spew carbon dioxide into the air by burning coal, gas and oil, the worse the impacts of the climate crisis will be.

That’s why, as mayor of Morrisville, I support Environment America’s “Solar on Superstores” campaign. It aims to take advantage of the untapped potential of Walmart superstore roofs. They’re the ideal places to harness solar energy.

Most North Carolinians are familiar with the role Walmart plays in our communities and our lives. Now, the space just above our heads as we shop has the potential to be just as important.

The roof of just one Walmart store could support enough solar panels to power nearly 200 average homes, and there are 192 Walmart stores in North Carolina alone. Across the country, that adds up to enough space to power 842,700 average American homes.

Solar energy reduces global warming pollution and reduces emissions of dangerous air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, mercury and particulate matter. Installing solar on all superstores would cut annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking more than 11.3 million gas-powered cars off the road. This slows global warming and makes the air across our country cleaner.

In addition to the extensive nationwide environmental benefits, installing solar on Walmart roofs directly benefits communities like ours. Generating electricity closer to where it is used reduces costs for consumers as less energy is lost in transit, and makes our power grid more resilient, particularly in the face of increasingly common extreme weather events.

This collaboration between elected officials and the nation’s largest retailer has an opportunity to benefit both our communities and our environment, regardless of limitations on national power. I’ve voiced my own encouragement for Walmart to install solar on all roofs and parking lots by 2035 because I understand the necessity of climate action, and I see this initiative as a win-win-win situation for communities, retail businesses and the planet.

Walmart has already been a national leader on climate. Through 2019, the retail chain was the nation’s second largest business installer of on-site solar panels, second only behind Target. A commitment to put solar panels on nearly all of its stores, distribution centers and accompanying parking lots by 2035 would solidify Walmart’s position as a national leader in transitioning to renewable energy in a community-centered way.

Climate change is one of the most pressing problems we face — but its solutions can bring benefits that extend far beyond the issue itself.

I am proud that Morrisville is a participant in “Solarize the Triangle,” a program developed by the Triangle Sustainability Partnership that aims to make solar energy more accessible for residents and businesses in 11 local jurisdictions.

The initiative covers the cities of Raleigh and Durham, Chatham, Durham and Orange counties, and the towns of Apex, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Morrisville. It’s designed to reduce the cost of solar energy systems through a community-based group-purchasing program that offers volume discount pricing on materials and installation services.

As climate change worsens, it’s imperative that all of us — from global businesses to elected officials to individuals — leverage our power to transition towards a cleaner, greener, safer future for all.

TJ Cawley is serving his second term as Morrisville mayor. He served on the Morrisville Town Council from 2013 to 2017.