Solar panels were just the prescription for one Iowa business to not only reduce its carbon footprint but save money on energy costs in the long term.
Urbandale business owner and Iowa state legislator John Forbes is installing 90 solar panels on the roof of his Medicap Pharmacy. When they go into operation in September, he says they will provide 82 percent of his electrical power each year.
Tyler Olson of SiteGen Solar of Cedar Rapids (left) installed the solar panels on the roof of the Urbandale Medicap Pharmacy, owned by John Forbes (right).
Forbes says other business owners who are thinking about installing solar should figure out the costs and benefits and make sure it works for them. Tax credits will help reduce the cost of his installation by 48 percent. And while he was able to pay for the upfront installation costs, the Democratic Iowa House representative knows there is work to be done to make it more widely accessible.
“As a small business owner there’s a lot of people that would like to be able to do this but they don’t have a lot of the necessary upfront capital,” Forbes said. “As legislators, we need to look at programs to incentivize small business owners to be able to move in this direction.”
The panels are being installed by SiteGen Solar of Cedar Rapids. Tyler Olson of SiteGen, who is a former Democratic state legislator, says the installation is projected to pay for itself in saved energy costs in 8.8 years and more than $63,000 will be gained over the life of the solar installation.
“While there are environmental reasons to do something like this to deal with climate change, the financial payback is there as well,” Olson said. “This is not just something theoretical that looks good or feels good. John will come out ahead at the end of the day.”
Forbes moved to the newly built Medicap Pharmacy at 8170 Douglas Ave. in 2014. When he built the building he made sure it had the infrastructure to support solar panels. Olson said most buildings built in the past 15 years or so should be able to support panels and older structures can be reinforced if they don’t currently have the capacity.
Facts about Urbandale Medicap solar installation
• 25 kw DC (kilowatt direct current)
• 90 solar panels (made in the U.S.)
• 90 microinventers (device that converts direct current generated by a single solar module to alternating current, AC)
• Will provide 82 percent of annual electricity usage
• 1625 square feet of solar panels
• 10 degree fixed panel tilt
• Tax credits reduce cost of solar facility by 48 percent
• 10 percent internal rate of return on capital investment
• Payback in 8-9 years
• $63,357 gained over life of solar facility
• Will reduce Medicap’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 703 tons, equivalent to planting 17,009 trees, eliminating 1.46 million auto miles, reducing burning of 355.7 tons of coal or eliminating CO2 emissions of 83 homes per year.
See aerial video of installation of Urbandale Medicap solar facility.