Did you know the Thys Automotive Family has been solar powered since 2016?
Joel Thys and Jake Rabe sat down recently to talk about the
benefits of solar power. It has been over three years since Joel Thys
chose to power his dealerships with solar energy. Since October 1st of
2016, Thys has saved over a million pounds of CO2 emissions. That's the
equivalent of 25,852 trees planted in just three years time.
 ![]() |  "One of the things that people always get back to me on is that they didn't know they would just feel so good about doing something good for the environment and for our future generations." - Jake Rabe - President Rabe Hardware |
In the interview, Jake recognizes Joel Thys as a visionary as one
of his very first commercial customers to commit to solar energy. In
addition to the environmental benefits, he mentions that in just three
years Thys is "right at over $100,000 in utility savings."
 This environmental and financial success is due to the 592 panels installed on four Thys locations (Thys Chevrolet Blairstown, Thys Motor Company in Belle Plaine, Thys Collision Center and the Car Wash). Joel also talks about how it fits in with our other environmentally conscious efforts including geothermal and recycling. |  ![]() |
Rabe Hardware installed all 592 solar panels and has provided a
hassle free solution to Thys' solar energy needs. They took the time to
evaluate the needs of each location and helped to maximize the return
on investment. So far the system has been easy to monitor and nothing
to speak of with the serviceability of the entire system.