Gentle Giants Horse Rescue installs 410 solar panels

ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL OFFSET
145 tons of CO2 or preserving 3,364 trees

Located in Mount Airy, MD, Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue is a non-profit equine welfare organization formed to facilitate the rescue of draft horses from slaughter, abuse, and neglect. They are funded entirely by donations that go towards the rescue and care of over 300 horses annually. Rescue and rehabilitation can be a costly endeavor, and Gentle Giants is always looking for ways to redirect any savings back to the horses. This is one of the many reasons the organization invested in solar energy. “As a non-profit, we’re also very invested in making sure that we’re protecting the investment of every single donor dollar” stated Christine Hajek, co-founder. “We want to be as efficient as we can with every single dollar.” 

The non-profit has over 150 horses in its care, and they rely on electricity for a wide variety of reasons. Electricity is used to keep water in the troughs from freezing in the winter, to run fans in stalls during the summer, and to keep feed and medications in temperature-controlled environments. They are very excited that the energy generated through solar is helping offset their electric costs. 

The solar energy array is projected to save nearly $130,000 on the electric bills for the non-profit over the next 25 years.