[CARRIEMB2]

New Eco-Friendly Grocery Hopes To Cut Energy Costs

MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ― The first LEED certified grocery store in the country is opening in St. Paul.

The store, owned by Cub Food, decided to go green because it wanted to help the environment and because it saw potential cost savings.

"The energy savings alone -- just by placing LED lights in our refrigerated cases -- are about $6,500 a year," said Senior Project Manager Scott Reinke.

The process of becoming LEED certified is not easy, however. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In order to become certified, construction crews have to choose the right materials and think about waste. Everything is recycled, including glue containers.

"I think the whole team would say that it's probably one of the biggest challenges that they've ever had," Reinke said.

Reinke said the store will seem brighter because of the skylights.

"In this particular store, there are 44 skylights," Reinke said. "These particular skylights are the type that are solar powered; GPS controlled, they're going to track optimizing the sunlight of a given day."

When it's light outside, the indoor lighting adjusts down. When it's dark it will pop back up. Outside in the parking lot, customers will find LED lights that won't have to be replaced for 40 years.

The landscape irrigation system will use less water than typical systems. The store will also plant drought-resistant plants.

"We'll have 50 percent savings in terms of water, 50 percent savings in lighting, 75 percent of the products from this site will not see the landfill. It is all going to be reused, recycled," said Community Relations Manager for Cub Foods Leeann Jorgenson.

Keeping operating costs down should help the store keep food costs in check.

"We hope that this is another reason for the community to be excited that we're coming into their neighborhood," said Jorgenson.

It's not likely you'll notice huge differences in this store compared to other Cub Foods, but that's sort of the point, CBS station WCCO-TV reported. The hope is seeing what a big construction project like this can accomplish will encourage people to take a closer look at what they can easily change in their own homes.

[sarahr84]

This is down the street from me, it's really nicely done inside. I can also get a little more green now that it's close enough to walk! It's been really busy since they opened.