AURORA, Colo. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that it has launched its second "experimental" store to evaluate energy-saving technologies and environmentally beneficial enhancements. The new store, located here, incorporates evaporative cooling with a low-flow displacement ventilation system. For heating, waste-oil boilers provide hot water for radiant floor heating to help keep pedestrian areas clear of snow, and a solar wall preheats ventilation air, reducing the store's use of natural gas for heating.

The store draws some of its power from a 50-kilowatt wind turbine, 134 kilowatts of solar power, and six 60-kilowatt gas-fired microturbines. The store's energy efficiency features also include daylighting and a variety of energy-efficient electric lighting technologies.

Wal-Mart launched its first experimental store in Texas in July. For the Colorado store, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) nearby National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will provide monitoring, testing, and analysis of the facility for the next three years.