The Greener Good - Kowalski's

Published on July 23, 2026

A large brown brick building with the letters

The Greener Good is a city sustainability spotlight series, where businesses and residents showcase steps that they have taken towards sustainable solutions in their workplaces and homes. We are happy to introduce our first spotlight feature: Kowalski's Market.

In 2023, Kowalski’s Markets installed a solar power system on the roof of their Shoreview location. The system consists of 72 panels, covering nearly every inch of the roof. These solar panels:

Generate approximately 540 watts per panel
Power the sales floor, central bakery, smokehouse, transportation center, and multiple kitchens
Save Kowalski’s about $10,000 in energy costs every few months

The Kowalski’s team started looking into solar in 2017, just a year after the store opened. Planning began in 2020, and the project was completed in 2023.

A number of solar panels span across a white roof. The tops of trees and a blue sky appear in background.

“We wanted to do it right, we want it to last, we want it to be a good system,” Darren Hines, Transportation/Project Director of Kowalski’s, said. To make this project happen, Kowalski’s collaborated with All Energy Solar, based in Minneapolis.

Kowalski’s strives to be sustainable in all areas, from the food they sell to the energy powering their stores. Their sustainability goals align with their civic business model, which includes every employee as a civic partner who participates in decision-making in the company. According to Hines, sustainability through solar is a way Kowalski’s is “trying to do the best that we can to help the community and the company grow.”