Brian Bennett (left) and Shem Falter recently installed 72 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op building. The solar panels will generate 31,000-kilowatt hours of electricity per year, enough to reduce the co-op’s electrical bill by about $3,000 per year. As a leader in environmentally sustainable practices, installation of solar panels allows the co-op to cut its energy consumption, operating costs, and reduce its carbon footprint.
Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Brian Bennett of Outback Solar and his co-worker Shem Falter recently completed the process of installing solar panels across the entire roof of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op.
Bennett and Falter put 72 Q Cell photovoltaic solar panels on the roof that should generate about 31,000 kilowatts a year, or about one-seventh of the co-op’s yearly energy usage.
“We keep track of how much energy we use and last year we used 213,500 kilowatts,” said Co-op General Manager Jennifer Stoltz.
Bennett said the job took about one month to complete, adding that the panels will be weighted down with heavy bricks to keep them in place.
While the project will cost about $78,000, Stoltz said the co-op would receive federal tax credits that will help offset the initial price. Stoltz said she applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant that if awarded will help offset the cost some more, but how much that would be is unknown at this time.
”We won’t know about the grant until the end of September,” she said.
Now that the panels are in place and generating electricity, a monitor will be set up by the customer center so shoppers can keep track of how much power they are putting out. Stoltz said they will also put that information online on the co-op’s website and people can follow the solar panel generation there as well.
There are currently 2,311 members at the co-op, and the business has seen steady gains since moving into its new building in 2013.
In its 40th year of operation, the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op continues to evolve in what it offers its customers, and now it can say that in a way when its energy bills go down, it can offer each shopper a little gift from the sun.
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