Costco Wholesale members who live in Canada may be interested in knowing that come 2009 there will be an expanded assortment of solar chargers available in Costco stores. Costco of Canada has increased its wholesale order to ICP Solar, the manufacturer of Coleman-branded solar chargers. Costco has placed an order for roughly $1 million worth of solar charging units, a “significant increase over 2008,” according to the ICP Solar Technologies press release.
People in the United States need not despair. Wal-Mart is purchasing a comparable number of solar chargers for sale in 2,100 of its stores across the USA. The Wal-Mart purchase almost doubles the quantity the corporation purchased in 2008.
The 2008 Coleman solar chargers’ output ranged from 0.3 amps to 1.2 amps (or 15 volts). The units were built to charge or maintain 12-volt and other types of deep-cycle batteries, or smaller electronic devices such as a GPS, computer, or cell phone.
The two corporate behemoths are clearly betting on increased demand for consumer products that offset our reliance on oil. Let’s hope Costco’s and Wal-Mart’s reading of the market is right, and that consumers really use – and continue to use – their new solar chargers. Because in the end, it will not only be Costco and Wal-Mart that profit, our planet benefits too.