How a 72-Foot Solar Canopy Transformed a KFC Drive-Thru
Take one look at the Stewart Restaurant Group’s 72-foot drive-thru canopy at its KFC restaurant in Bakersfield, California, and the operational benefits are immediately apparent.
Standing 72 feet long and 22 feet wide, the canopy transformed the restaurant’s drive-thru by giving employees shade and protection while taking orders from customers waiting in line. That helps the restaurant improve working conditions, customer flow, and drive-thru operations.
But the most valuable feature is sitting on top of the canopy.
The structure incorporates 57 high-efficiency bifacial solar panels that generate electricity for the restaurant. At the time the project was developed, Integrate Solar projected that the system would save Stewart Restaurant Group approximately $400,000 in electricity costs over 25 years.
The result is infrastructure that does much more than provide shade.
It turns a drive-thru canopy into a long-term energy-producing asset.
And for restaurant companies considering similar projects today, there is a new reason to act: the federal tax incentives available for new solar projects are approaching a major deadline.
Finding the Right Location to Start
Stewart Restaurant Group (SRG) operates more than 100 restaurants across multiple states. Rather than randomly selecting a location for its first solar canopy, Integrate Solar analyzed the portfolio to identify a site where solar could deliver both attractive financial returns and operational benefits.
The Bakersfield KFC quickly emerged as a strong candidate.
It was one of SRG’s busiest stores, making drive-thru operations particularly important. A canopy could provide shade and protection for employees while potentially improving customer throughput.
But unlike a conventional drive-thru canopy, a solar canopy could also generate electricity for decades.
To understand the financial opportunity, Integrate Solar modeled expected system production using factors including local solar irradiance, weather, shading, equipment performance, utility rates, and long-term solar-panel degradation. The analysis projected approximately $400,000 in lifetime electricity savings.
The project demonstrated an important principle for multi-site companies:
The best solar locations aren’t necessarily selected based on sunlight alone.
Energy consumption, electricity rates, available space, operational needs, incentives, and construction conditions should all be considered when determining where to invest first.
Designing a Canopy for the Restaurant—Not Just the Solar Panels
The canopy couldn’t simply produce electricity. It needed to function as part of a busy KFC restaurant.
Working with SRG, Integrate Solar designed the structure around three primary requirements:
- Provide team members with shade, protection, and fans to help keep them cool
- Blend into the appearance of the existing KFC
- Stay within SRG’s established project budget
Aesthetics were particularly important.
The steel structure was painted, a rail was incorporated around the top, and bifacial solar modules were used to create an attractive appearance from underneath the canopy. The structure itself was manufactured using U.S. steel.
Instead of solar being something added to the restaurant, the objective was to make it feel like part of the restaurant.
Installing Solar Without Interrupting the Drive-Thru
Construction presented another challenge.
The Bakersfield KFC’s drive-thru remained busy throughout the day. Shutting it down for an extended construction project wasn’t an acceptable option.
Integrate Solar therefore developed a construction schedule around the restaurant’s operations.
Crews dug foundations, poured concrete, erected the steel columns and girders, and installed all 57 solar panels without shutting down the drive-thru. Work and cleanup were completed before customers arrived each morning.
Permitting was completed in less than six weeks, and physical construction was completed in only nine business days, despite some weather-related delays.
The restaurant remained operational throughout the installation.
For multi-site restaurant companies, that is an essential part of successful solar deployment. Energy savings don’t mean much if construction unnecessarily interferes with the core business.
Federal Incentives Made the Investment Even More Attractive
When SRG developed the Bakersfield project in 2022, federal tax incentives played a significant role in the economics.
The incentive environment has changed since then—but federal tax credits can still substantially reduce the effective cost of qualifying commercial solar projects.
Today, qualifying projects generally fall under the Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Credit. The base credit is 6% of qualified investment and can generally increase to 30% when applicable prevailing-wage and apprenticeship requirements are satisfied. Certain projects may qualify for the increased credit without separately satisfying those requirements.
Projects can potentially receive additional bonus credits as well, including up to a 10-percentage-point Domestic Content Bonus and a 10-percentage-point Energy Community Bonus when applicable requirements are met.
That means the location, equipment, construction strategy, and timing of a project can materially affect its after-tax economics.
But there is now another factor companies need to consider:
Time.
The Federal Solar Tax Credit Is Approaching a Major Deadline
Federal legislation enacted in 2025 accelerated the termination of the Section 48E credit for applicable solar facilities.
For applicable solar projects that began construction after July 4, 2026, the facility generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to qualify for the Section 48E credit.
Projects that properly began construction on or before July 4, 2026 can be treated differently under the new termination rules, subject to applicable IRS requirements.
For companies considering new projects today, however, the practical message is straightforward:
December 31, 2027 should be treated as a critical deadline for new commercial solar development.
And a solar project can’t simply be ordered in December 2027.
A commercial installation may require site assessment, engineering, customer approvals, permitting, equipment procurement, construction, inspections, and utility interconnection before it can be placed in service.
For a company hoping to install solar at 20, 50, or 100 locations, that makes planning particularly important.
The remaining incentive window creates a strong reason for multi-site companies to evaluate their portfolios now, determine which locations offer the best economics, and develop the strongest projects first.
Staying Connected to the Grid
Installing solar doesn’t mean disconnecting a restaurant from the electric utility.
The Bakersfield KFC remains connected to the grid just as it did before the solar canopy was installed.
When the solar system is generating electricity, the restaurant can consume that electricity on-site, reducing the amount of power it needs to purchase from its utility.
When solar isn’t producing enough electricity to meet the restaurant’s needs, the grid continues supplying the difference.
Depending on the applicable utility tariff and interconnection arrangement, excess solar production may also be exported to the grid and compensated according to the utility’s applicable rules.
For energy-intensive businesses such as restaurants, the objective is typically to design the system around the property’s electricity consumption, utility tariff, available solar area, and project economics.
A Low-Maintenance Asset Built to Produce for Decades
Once installed and commissioned, solar systems generally require relatively little ongoing maintenance.
Bakersfield’s dry climate means the canopy receives less natural cleaning from rainfall than systems in many other parts of the country. SRG therefore planned periodic panel cleaning to help maintain system performance.
More important is ensuring that system performance is monitored over its operating life.
A solar system can only generate savings when it’s generating electricity.
That’s why Integrate Solar’s approach now extends beyond design and installation to ongoing portfolio monitoring, allowing multi-site companies to track the performance of their operating solar assets and identify systems that require attention.
Making Multi-Site Solar Easy
For SRG, one of the project’s most important requirements was that solar couldn’t become another major responsibility for its restaurant operations team.
Integrate Solar managed the design and engineering, permitting, construction, utility interconnection, and incentive-related documentation so SRG could remain informed without having to manage the day-to-day development process itself.
Today, we’ve taken that approach even further.
Integrate Solar helps multi-site companies evaluate their portfolios, identify attractive locations, develop projects, install systems, manage project documentation, track development milestones, complete utility interconnection, and monitor operating assets.
The goal is to make deploying solar across 100 locations almost as manageable as deploying it at one.
The Opportunity Is Significant. The Window Is Getting Shorter.
The Bakersfield KFC demonstrates what can happen when commercial solar is approached as more than an energy project.
One investment created a better drive-thru environment, added an attractive permanent structure to the restaurant, reduced electricity purchases, lowered carbon emissions, and created an energy-producing asset expected to generate value for decades.
For companies considering similar projects today, the fundamental economics remain compelling.
What’s different is the timeline.
With the federal solar investment credit approaching a major December 31, 2027 deadline for many new projects, companies no longer have the luxury of assuming today’s incentive environment will remain available indefinitely.
For a business with hundreds or thousands of locations, now is the time to answer three questions:
Which locations in our portfolio are best for solar?
How many of those projects can realistically be developed and placed in service before the deadline?
And how quickly can we get started?
Integrate Solar helps multi-site companies answer those questions—and then manages the process from portfolio analysis and project development through installation, interconnection, and ongoing performance.
The Bakersfield KFC was one solar canopy at one restaurant.
For a multi-site company, the bigger opportunity is determining how many locations across the portfolio could be next.
Tax incentives and eligibility depend on project-specific circumstances. This case study is for informational purposes and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Companies should consult qualified tax and legal advisors regarding federal incentive eligibility.