DUBUQUE, Iowa — An Iowa convenience-store owner is embracing solar power to save utility costs and maybe even help the Earth, according to a report by The Telegraph Herald.

Waseem Serwar has installed solar panels at two of his c-store sites in Dubuque, Iowa. This includes more than 30 panels on top of the canopy of Serwar’s Dubuque Quick Stop Mart, and 24 on top of his IOCO station’s canopy.

He had two main reasons for installing the solar panels, the report said.

“I am going to save money, and I am happy that I am doing something to help save the environment,” he told the Herald.

While the solar panels will not provide all of stations’ electricity, they will trim their energy usage and electric bills. Serwar said expects the panels at Dubuque Quick Stop Mart to offset his energy usage by 10% and help him save $1,960 in electricity costs per year. The panels at the IOCO site should offset 5% of its energy use and cut costs more than $1,300 per year.

Dubuque-based Solar Planet Inc. installed the panels, said the report. Tim Mueller, president of Solar Planet, said that Serwar is “ahead of the curve” in his adoption of solar energy, and claimed that his two sites are the first gas stations in Iowa to install solar panels.

“For a gas station to use solar energy, that is obviously a big contrast,” Mueller told the Herald. “But I think the petroleum industry can get a real boost in public image if they start using renewable energy at their stations.”

Serwar took advantage of a federal business energy investment tax credit and state solar energy systems tax credit to help fund the panel project. The two credits combined offset almost 50% of the $64,000 investment, the report said.

Click here to view the full Telegraph Herald report.