What started two years ago as an innovative solution for a lack of affordable employee housing is about to become one of the largest grid-tied commercial-use solar panel arrays on Lake Superior’s north shore.
Built in 2016, Cascade Vacation Rental’s four-apartment campus facility was designed to accommodate growing staffing needs as well as house its commercial laundry facility, housekeeping storage and maintenance office. “It was an investment in our people that has made every part of our business more efficient,” explained owner Steve Surbaugh. “The positive returns were immediate and we expect that to continue.”
Even so, Surbaugh and Cascade business partner Mike Larson knew they could do better. “We wanted more—for our families, our customers, our community and the environment,” said Larson.
Do good. Then do better. It’s a personal philosophy Surbaugh and Larson shared when they merged companies in 2015. And it sheds light on their openness to employee epiphanies, like the one from early March of this year.
Cascade Vacation Rentals project manager, Andrews Beavers, recalled the precise moment the idea dawned on him. “As I walked up to our “monolith” of a building, the sun illuminated our south-facing wall.” Turns out, the building is nearly perfectly built and situated to maximize solar energy.
And so Beavers began the seven month process of planning the installation at that time of the largest commercially-owned grid-tied system in the Arrowhead Electrical Cooperative portfolio. When finished, the 42-panel array will generate 14kw of power. How much electricity are we talking? Surbaugh put it in straight business terms. “It’ll offset nearly 60 percent of our building’s annual energy usage. That’s a lot of free loads of laundry.”
The solar project is the crown jewel of a yearlong effort to make the large structure’s energy and resource “footprint” as small as possible. Additional improvements have included dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads and adjusted laundry procedures that, together, have reduced water usage by over 47 percent.
Now that their latest effort is near completion, what’s next on the horizon for Cascade Vacation Rentals and its employees? Beavers says they’re keeping their eyes—and minds—open. “We want the care and attention we put into our business to be reflected in the love and respect we show for this beautiful place we all call home.”
About Cascade Vacation Rentals:
Since 2004, Cascade Vacation Rentals (CVR) has been helping people “reconnect to what’s important” by making it easy to find the perfect place to stay in one of the most beautiful places in the world—from Duluth to the Canadian border along the North Shore of Lake Superior. In addition to managing a portfolio of more than 200 private rental properties, CVR offers a built-in inventory of homes and full-service Realtor services for prospective buyers and sellers who want to reap the rewards of sharing their Up North vacation lifestyle.
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