Christopher Kinsley Sr. is the third generation to run the family grocery business in the Poconos and will soon be able to supply 85 to 90% of the power for the business from the 10-plus acres of solar panels that are being installed.

“When the store was built it was always the plan that eventually the store would use solar energy,” he said.

The project cost $4 million. He said the payback is only seven years and the solar panels have a 30-year life span.

After one year if it is successful there is federal rebate and also PPL offers a rebate,

“Even when the Brodheadsville ShopRite was built it met EPA GreenChill Gold standards for sustainable refrigeration and certification that require a store uses only non-ozone-depleting refrigerants,” Kinsley said.

He said it must also achieve an average hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant charge of no more than 1.25 pounds of refrigerant per 1,000 BTU per hour total evaporator cooling load and a storewide annual refrigerant emissions rate of no more than 15 percent.

Kinsley said the store has won several awards for their dedication to staying green.

Keeping his promises to continue to be a green business, Kinsley plans to install chargers for solar vehicles.

Sometime in May he plans to have a ribbon cutting and celebration.