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ROCHESTER — Dan Zimmer’s Broadway Laundromat is now solar-powered, in part due to help with a Destination Medical Center grant.
Broadway Laundromat, a full-service laundry, recently flipped the switch on its new solar system on its roof at 1117 Broadway Ave North, at the end of the commercial center that it shares with Midwest Firearms Group and Duke’s Vault collectible trading card shop.
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That means all of the 30 washers, lights and other devices in the laundromat are now running on electricity generated by the new solar power system.
Zimmer, who owns the commercial complex, explained that installing a solar generator system for the laundromat has been a long road. In 2014, he researched solar power and found he could only generate enough power to cover about 55% of the electricity with the technology at the time.
“I put the project on the back burner until I ran into a representative of Solar Connection at a Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce event in 2024. We put together a plan that could generate 120% of my usual power use,” he said.
The first step was to replace the 53-year-old building’s roof. That led to discovering problems with the building’s electrical systems, which needed to be upgraded before the solar project could move forward.
“That wasn’t in the budget. We thought we were going to have to scrap it, but we were lucky to be awarded a Main Street Economic Revitalization Grant by DMC,” said Zimmer. “I can’t emphasize enough that without that DMC grant we would not have been able to go forward with the project.”
The DMC grant, awarded in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, provided $34,500, which covered about 22% to 24% of the costs, according to Zimmer.
Broadway Laundromat can now produce its own electricity, which it previously purchased from Rochester Public Utilities.
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“Our hope is that we’re able to keep our machines at a low cost for our customers, so we’re not having to give them a 10% increase based on a RPU price hike. It’s a win-win for our customers. It’s a win-win for us,” he said.
Zimmer’s team of four employees offers drop-off and delivery wash-dry-fold services as well as customer assistance and community support of the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities.
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