The Minturn Saloon restaurant building dates back to 1901 and has been a popular Vail Valley restaurant and bar all of that time. Now the Minturn Saloon is the first restaurant in Eagle County to be solar powered.

“Thanks to incentives from both the private and public sector there has never been a more attractive time to make the technology switch,” co-owner Steve Campbell said. “We expect that the hardware and installation will pay for itself in two to three years while our electrical bill diminishes by 25 percent.”

The solar power system was designed and installed by Active Energies of Minturn and was partially funded with grants from Xcel Energy and Eagle County.

“I really didn't think it was a project we would be able to tackle anytime soon,” co-owner Andy Kaufman said. “Even the Active Energies folks were surprised that the project would pay for itself in such a short time.”