Bigfork business moves to solar power

BIGFORK, Mont. — Businesses are finding new ways to cut costs and save money. One resource some are exploring is renewable energy.

“One of the few things we can tackle and take a run at is utility bills,” said Doug White, owner of Your Turn Mercantile.

Running a business can be challenging. Hiring is shifting into lower gear, and inflation is still coming down.

Using resources like the sun can lower the cost of monthly bills, and that is what Your Turn Mercantile is trying to do.

“The capability of solar,” said White. “I looked at it, looked at it deep, and it could come off the ROI performer. It would show that we would have a reduction of at least a third. It seems like the reduction is going to be more than that.”

White is the owner of Your Turn Mercantile in Bigfork. He tells NBC Montana not only the store has solar power panels, but so does his barn, and he’s seeing the benefits of solar energy.

“In a very sunny day, we have made more electricity here at the store that we consumed,” said White. “So the first time, we’ve only been online for about three weeks, so that’s impressive to see.”

Your Turn Mercantile also has batteries that charge from the electric being made through the new design.

“Recent storm we had three weeks ago, most of the 12,000 people were out of power,” said White. “Up to a dozen hours. We were on power for four to six hours just battery alone.”

During the power outage, people came into the store amazed it was still open.

“People were coming in on a Friday night,” said White. “Why are your lights on? Why is the store open? Why does the casino still have people in it? Because we were running on battery backup.”

Even though the panels have been only running since Sept. 5, he cant wait to see where it goes.

“As far as we can see right now,” said White. “Pretty excited about this new adventure.”

White tells NBC Montana his bill was $1,500 a month but is expecting his new bill to be between $700 and $900.