Aldi shoppers in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia will soon notice a big change in-store, as the discount supermarket chain continues efforts to cut its energy use.

Aldi has been trialling chiller doors on its refrigerated shelves in five NSW supermarkets – finding that the outlets that have them have cut their energy use on in-store refrigeration by about 30 per cent.

The success has prompted it to expand the trial to 15 stores across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia from late September.

“Refrigeration across Aldi stores accounts for 20 per cent of our total electricity usage and early results suggest this change could lead to a reduction in refrigeration energy usage of approximately 30 per cent,” the discount retailer said in a statement on Tuesday.

Aldi said using glass doors on its chilled ranges meant shoppers could still easily find what they were looking for, while the supermarket cut its energy use.

The shift comes as Aldi Australia’s transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity has been independently verified by the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Regulator in its 2023 Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency Report.

The company’s sustainability director, Daniel Baker, said Aldi Australia was proud that it was continuing to lead the way as one of only a handful of companies featured in the report to have made the leap to fully renewable electricity.

“Given our focus and passion for our climate and energy commitments, Aldi is thrilled to have contributed to the CERT Report, making it easier for our customers to find verified data on our climate commitments and progress,” he said.

Aldi said it was the first, and so far the only, supermarket in Australia to power all of its offices, stores, and warehouses using only renewable electricity sources.

Aldi Australia is also continuing to expand its network of solar panels across 25 additional freestanding stores over the next 18 months. The expansion will have the ability to provide an additional 34 megawatt peak of power.

Aldi Australia already has more than 105,000 panels fitted across 270 stores and six of its distribution centres.

“As one of Australia’s largest grocery retailers, our responsibility to reduce our impact remains front of mind,” Mr Baker said.

“The steps we’re taking in utilising renewable electricity epitomises ALDI’s ongoing commitment to Making a Good Difference.

“Not only are we reducing our impact on the planet, we’re also bringing down our operational costs so we can continue passing these savings onto our customers. It makes great business sense and ensures we’re continuing to deliver the highest quality groceries at the lowest prices.”