The month of August brings big news for Tidewater Physical Therapy as we unveiled our solar panel installation at our Easton, MD headquarters.
Working with CNC Solar with financing help from Talbot Bank, we installed a 300-panel solar system, which produces an estimated 95,000 kWh of electricity per year, providing 100% of the expected electrical usage for our Easton clinic, making it the largest private healthcare solar installation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Our shareholders at Tidewater Physical Therapy decided to start this project as a way to improve the community in which our headquarters is housed. Our COO Jennifer Walter explains the reasoning behind the start of this major project, “As leaders of our industry, we feel it is our obligation to give back to the communities in which we live and work. Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to giving back in the form of charitable donations and the volunteering of our time. After celebrating our 30th year in business, we decided to take it one step further by becoming good stewards of our environment. We want to do our part to protect this beautiful area in which we are so lucky to live and offer a valuable service.”
This project not only improves the immediate community, but also caters to Maryland’s increasing drive to become more economically and environmentally conscious. Maryland has been working on its solar efficiency and is becoming a state leader in the solar field, with a current ranking of 7th according to the 2015 United States Solar Power Rankings by Solar Power Rocks. In the past eight years, the state’s solar capacity has gone from less than 0.1 MW to more than 225 MW by the end of 2014. Not only is our solar project helping the community on a statewide macro level, it is helping on a smaller community based level, as well. This is a first step in our stride towards a greener business, with hopes to expand their sustainable initiative in the future.
Using solar energy, we are helping Maryland’s push towards a more environmentally comprehensive method of energy. To weigh in on the subject of green energy, at our unveiling ceremony, Geoff Oxnam, vice president of operations at Easton Utilities said, “Increasing local solar energy reduces pollution, saves money and strengthens our community. This project celebrates Tidewater Physical Therapy’s leadership and the power of partnerships between public power, community banking, and local business.”
At the solar project ribbon cutting, our CEO Jim Downs was quoted saying, “Tidewater Physical Therapy represents a growing trend of businesses that see the benefit of adding solar panels to their property as a way to save money in energy costs and as an additional revenue stream for the business while helping to protect the environment. As Maryland is a state leader in solar energy installations and consumption, we knew the support system existed locally in both financing and vendors to help us make this project possible. We would like to acknowledge the local financing, Talbot Bank, as well as state and federal funding which allowed us to become trendsetters in solar energy for private healthcare and medical offices on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”
We hope this initiative helps to pave the way for solar energy on the Eastern Shore of Maryland through this significant solar project, becoming strong leaders in the solar and medical industries.
Intrigued? Have a stroll down to the end of Marvel Court in Easton, MD and see the installation in person!