Many more businesses are turning towards investing in renewable energy like solar and wind. McDonalds has just signed a long-term deal for Texas wind and solar energy. The energy won’t necessarily power McDonalds’ restaurants or offices, but it will supply power for the grid where the restaurant may qualify to participate in a Community Solar program. How is this important? Will this push restaurants around the country to go solar? Let’s hope it does!
Why Would Solar Energy Help Restaurants?
Restaurants use so much energy for their business. Restaurants consume more energy than twice the rate of other commercial businesses. If a restaurant can reduce the amount it costs to power the business, they will take that opportunity.
When a restaurant is serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they are using their water much more. Solar hot water is an advantage if used by restaurants. Adding solar panels to the roof of a restaurant will help power lights and other appliances in the restaurant. These renewable energy sources will help drop energy bills significantly.
The restaurant business is already cut-throat, which means taking advantage of solar energy can put you a step ahead of other businesses and leave you feeling comfortable with your energy savings.
Combating Pollution
We know restaurants can have a big impact on the environment with the amount of food waste they provide. There are entrepreneurs and restaurant owners looking into collaboration in order to help save the environment. Switching to renewable energy resources, sourcing sustainable food, reducing the amount of plastic being used, etc. can help in the solution. San Francisco restaurateurs are doing just that.
Solar Panels on your restaurant – solar power provides clean and pure energy from the sun. This will help combat greenhouse gas emissions and reduces everyone’s dependence on fossil fuels.
The Ultimate Benefits
Here are the ultimate benefits your restaurant will have with solar energy:
- Reduces Electricity Bills – Restaurants use a large amount of electricity with dishwashers, lighting, microwaves, etc. Your energy bills will drop because of the installation of solar panels.
- Low Maintenance – Solar energy systems don’t require high-cost maintenance, and if you go through Pope Energy, we can provide you with maintenance services that you may need.
- Water Usage – Since restaurants use much more hot water than any other business, a solar energy alternative will help combat water costs for your restaurant.
- Solar systems can be located on the roof of the restaurant or as a solar canopy installation over a parking lot.
Additional benefits offered by Pope Energy are the financing of solar projects and possible aggregation of a customer’s electrical account into a Community Solar program.
If a customer desires to own a solar energy system, we can place power purchase agreements or tariff agreements in place, as well as leverage banking relationships to finance solar projects. This will help restaurants who are trying to save money in all aspects. Direct ownership of a solar system yields not only a decrease in energy bills but also participation in tax advantageous programs such as accelerated depreciation and the federal investment tax credit program which will make the financial decision to invest in solar generation very favorable.
The Benefits of Financing:
This is 100% financing and no out-of-pocket expenses. We offer long-term financing up to 25 years, and the owner retains all of the tax incentives.
This ultimately will give more and more restaurants in the Massachusetts area an opportunity to cut costs with their energy bills and finance a long-term solution to renewable energy and the fight for a cleaner environment. It’s not up to just one restaurant, it has to be a collaboration of many restaurants.
Pope Energy
At Pope Energy, we provide businesses with complete development, engineering, procurement, construction and operations and maintenance services for commercial and large-scale solar photovoltaic power projects. Contact Pope Energy at 855-767-3363 to find out more about how we can help you reduce your energy costs for your restaurant and help the environment.