Fore Kicks Invests in Large Solar Installation

If you're familiar with the facility in Marlborough you probably already know they are pretty "green." 

The 135,000 square foot facility and surrounding golf course and athletic fields are covered mostly by grass or turf, but over the next few weeks owner Tom Teager and company will be going even greener. 

Fore Kicks is in the process of having several hundred solar panels placed on the roof of the Forest Street facility, a move that will enable them to significantly reduce their environmental impact and save a bunch of money along the way.

"We had thought about it all along," said Teager, who opened the Marlborough facility in 2009 along with his wife Pat. "Our energy here is natural gas and electricity and when we looked at this a couple of years ago the cost was prohibitively high. The technology was changing and growing, and now with rebates and more efficient panels available it could be justified."

After looking at their options, Teager said they chose the Hopkinton company Solect to do the installation for their competitive bid and the quality of the work they did. 

"We had a good comfort level with them and they had great references," said Teager. 

“Fore Kicks provides a perfect case study on how building and facility owners can really embrace the concept of solar energy,” said Ken Driscoll, a principal at Solect, in a press release. “With these two deployments, Fore Kicks will be able to rely nearly exclusively on solar for their electricity needs, including lighting their outdoor fields, golf course and parking lots for extended use during the outdoor season.”

Teager also owns a facility in Norfolk that has been open since 2002. Both businesses cater to a variety of clientele with professionals, organized leagues and the average sports enthusiast making use of the spaces. 

"The New England Revolution frequently use our facilities," said Teager. "But I wanted a place that would cater to professional athletes, and I wanted to bring that level of quality to everyone else as well. As a longtime coach I could never find that, so we started from scratch and built something you couldn't find anywhere else locally," said Teager of the facilities which also house a gym, corporate function rooms, a driving range and laser tag. 

He said the solar panel installation project should wrap up in several weeks and they expect to place a meter in the building's lobby to show themselves and clientele just how much energy they are creating and how much money they are saving.

Engineering studies were done on the facility to see what sort of weight load the roof could take, added Teager. Current plans have the installation taking up about a third of the available roof space. 

He said Massachusetts' commitment to green initiatives was integral to the project, and he believed that the Fore Kicks installation was the biggest in Marlborough to date, but certainly the largest in Norfolk.

"There is only so much energy," said Teager. "If we can use a renewable like solar, why not do it? Not only is it cost effective, but the green effect is obvious." 

Teager expects both solar installations to be operational by May, just in time for the peak summer (sunny) months, and the company expects to be able to sell some of the energy created back to the electric companies after supplying their own power. 

"I am hoping that other people will follow suit once they read about this," said Teager. "I'm not sure how long the rebates will be available, and I strongly recommend any business take a hard look at it. It will be fun for us to watch the meters in the lobby and to see all that energy being generating."

If you'd like to find out more about Fore Kicks, check out this video from WMCT-TV and the .

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