A longtime Kansas City business is going green.
McGonigle’s Market has added 100 solar panels to the roof of its building at 79th Street and Ward Parkway.
Owner Mike McGonigle said he has been interested in using alternative energy for some time. When Kansas City Power & Light offered a rebate for solar energy, he decided to take the leap.
“We estimate it should save us, on average, $300 a month,” McGonigle said. “Which combined with the rebates that Power & Light gave us and the tax savings we get because of the renewable energy credit, it should pay for itself in hopefully a couple of years.”
The solar panels produce electricity that powers the smaller equipment around the store, such as lights, fans and computers. Right now, the panels produce about 15 percent of that energy.
McGonigle said the heavier equipment like air conditioners and refrigerators use a different system.
He said even though the business started with his father in 1951, it’s not rooted in 1951.
“As the food industry has changed and as the world has changed, we've had to change or else we wouldn't have survived as it is,” he said. “So I just consider this yet another way to bring ourselves up-to-date and keep reinventing McGonigles.”
McGonigle said he has not noticed any difference in the daily operations in his store, except a lower electricity bill.
