McGee Toyota, a family-owned Toyota dealership that has been serving the South Shore for more than 40 years, has installed a 101.4 kW solar renewable energy system on the roof of its Washington Street dealership in partnership with Solect Energy Development, a Solar Power World Top 400 Contractor. The 390-panel project is expected to cover 30 percent of the dealership’s electricity costs and highlights McGee’s overall commitment to helping the environment through the use of clean energy. The project uses ET Solar panels and Solectria inverters.
Owner Rob McGee had been looking for ways to make his business more environmentally friendly, and when McGee Toyota finished construction on its new building in 2013, McGee made sure the roof was optimized for solar. “I wasn’t sure when we were going to install a solar system, but it was never a question of if—it was always when,” McGee said. “We were in our old building for a long time, and when it was time for a new building, we wanted to be as green as possible. Solect was very thorough and very knowledgeable about every step of the process.”
McGee Toyota’s green initiatives also included the installation of LED lighting throughout the new showroom as well as the installation of an energy-efficient car washing system that reclaims, purifies and reuses water. These improvements, along with the solar installation, will help stabilize McGee Toyota’s operational expenditures caused by fluctuating energy costs.
In addition to the cost savings generated, McGee Toyota is also able to take advantage of state and federal financial and tax incentives, including SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates), which solar system owners earn based on the amount of solar energy their system generates. SRECs are ultimately purchased by electrical utility providers in Massachusetts to help them meet their state-mandated goals of a percentage of power coming from renewable energy sources.
“McGee Toyota is part of a trend that continues to gather steam in Massachusetts: Businesses looking to trim and stabilize their energy costs while doing their part for the environment,” said Stephen Clairmont, Project Director at Solect. “Going forward, McGee Toyota will also have steady stream of revenue from SRECs over the life of the system.”