In Eldersburg, Maryland, Kohl’s shoppers looking to find a sale on towels or children’s wear probably won’t be aware that the electricity to light the aisles comes partly from solar energy. Some might not even care. In spite of that, America’s quiet revolution – to clean, “green” energy from the sun – proceeds, store by store and city by city, transforming the face of a nation.

The Eldersburg Kohl’s installation, comprising 1,500 solar panels, was installed by SunEdison out of Beltsville, Maryland. Kohl’s, a national chain of retailers, has also committed itself to more solar. In 2008, it was able to supply 20 percent of its energy requirements from 67 stores with solar energy systems on rooftops. Looking forward, the chain plans to add solar energy systems to 100 more locations.

According to John Fojut, Kohl's vice president of facilities, solar installations are assessed on the basis of feasibility. The Eldersburg site was ideal because the building was new enough to have a sturdy roof capable of supporting the panels. This is an important consideration, as individual solar panels, with their peripheral wiring, can easily weigh 45 pounds or more.

The Eldersburg solar installation, which took just over two months, will produce about 297 kilowatt hours per year, or almost 6 million kilowatts over its 20-year contract lifespan. This latter is enough electricity to power more than 559 homes for a year, according to Kirk Roller, the vice president of sales for SunEdison, a solar power provider at both the residential and commercial level and one of the largest solar energy services providers in North America.

SunEdison retains ownership of, and maintains, all the Kohl’s solar panel systems, which have a 25-year warranty, and in turn gives Kohl’s a fixed rate for the electricity produced, which helps the store cut back the amount of electricity it gets from its local utility provider, Direct Energy. Together, all Kohl’s locations deliver 20.9 megawatts of power a year. To put the size in perspective, Sempra Generation is planning to add 48 megawatts to 10-megawatt El Dorado, Nevada site, which (at 58 megawatts) would make it the largest solar power facility in North America.

The Eldersburg installation is predicted to provide from 20 to 30 percent of the store’s needs, depending on the amount of sunlight and the time of the year. The panels, which weigh about 43 pounds, are inclined slightly south to take advantage of the angle of the sun. This installation method, using bricks as anchors, is preferable to older methods that screwed panels in place, creating lots of holes in what is meant to be an impervious surface.

Kohl’s stores in Timonium, Hagerstown, Silver Spring and Waldorf, Maryland are also scheduled to get their solar-panel retrofit, according to Roller.