Palmer Animal Hospital
Animal Hospital in Myersville, MD invests in solar energy
Project Details
Financial Impact
Financial impact figures are not available for this project.
Financial Highlights
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68.6% installation cost covered by tax credits & grants
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Less than 7 yr. expected time for system payback
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16.3% ROI
System Overview
150 solar panels and 5 inverters
49.5 kW System
Production: 58,251 kWh annually
Environmental Impact
Tons of CO2 Offset / Year:
45.3
Tree Offset / Year:
1,054.3
Barrels of Oil Offset / Year:
95.5
Appreciating the Depreciation
Palmer was looking for a way his business could save on taxes for the year when our solar consultant approached him about solar energy. With the 26% Federal Tax Credit and tax savings on depreciation, solar seemed to be the perfect answer.
“A lot of it made sense to me. The immediate savings as far as tax credits and then the long-term savings as far as electrical.”
The Federal Tax Credit allowed Palmer to deduct 30% of the system’s cost from owed taxes. This credit is available to all solar system owners so long as they have tax liability but has since stepped down from 30% to 26%. The incentive is poised to step back again in 2021 to 22%. By 2022, the credit will remain as a 10% tax credit for businesses only.
Dr. Palmer was also able to take care of another tax savings – 100% bonus depreciation. This incentive is available for all commercial solar systems and allows the entire cost basis of the system to be depreciated in the year it was placed into service, allowing them to accelerate all of the depreciation benefits to the first year.
System Monitoring
In Palmer Animal Hospital’s lobby, amidst the happy dogs, cats, and their owners, hangs two monitors. These monitors display the system’s production live, so Palmer, his staff, and customers can engage with the data and see how much electricity the panels are generating.
Paradise Energy worked with Dr. Palmer to design the system to meet his specific energy needs. Covering 99% of the 5,000-square-foot office’s electricity usage, the array maximized energy output while minimizing cost and system size.
Positioned on a south-facing hill with no shading, Palmer’s ground mount array is comprised of 150 panels and produced about 58,251 kWh of electricity in the first year alone. Because of this ideal location, it’s possible that Palmer’s system will produce even more electricity than the animal hospital uses.
Small Changes for a Big Impact
Dr. Palmer not a self-proclaimed green fanatic, but he does enjoy the positive environmental impact the system has on his business, and the positive impact on his bottom line.
A few years before, he made his first green change by switching all his lights from fluorescent to LED. Not only did this greatly reduce the amount of energy the building used, but it also reduced the number of times maintenance workers had to fix the lights, saving him money on both ends.
This same principle was applied to his solar system. Though it greatly reduces the carbon footprint of the animal hospital, it also saves Palmer years of energy costs.
“It’s neat to be able to do this solar project, but it’s a small business so it has to be a business decision.”
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