A new 1.1 megawatt (MW) solar power system is being installed at Medeiros and Son Dairy, Hanford, CA. The project, deployed by CalCom Solar, will be completed this summer.
Medeiros & Son Dairy is a family farm located in Kings County in California’s Central Valley. The dairy milks 2,450 cows and farms 1,400 acres. Medeiros & Son was honored as Dairy Family of the Year for Kings County in 2013.
“CalCom Solar is making solar energy work for us, both operationally and financially,” said Brian Medeiros. “The dairy business takes constant evaluation and assessment to ensure our operation and team is working as efficiently as possible. We’re extremely focused on improving efficiencies across the entire dairy farm. Installing solar is one of those crucial tools that makes a lot of sense. It helps us to reduce our energy costs and improve our bottom line.”
“By having a lower cost renewable energy source, our farming practices will also improve as we will be able to increase the amount of run time on fans and other electrical appliances, helping to cool our cows more,” said Medeiros.
“We’re very proud to be working with Medeiros and Son, a leader in sustainable dairying and farming, and to provide them with clean, reliable, emissions-free electricity,” said CalCom Solar CEO Nic Stover. “By deploying over a megawatt of clean solar-powered generation, Medeiros will take a huge step towards becoming a net-zero, sustainable dairy. Beginning in the third quarter of 2015, Medeiros will significantly lower operational costs, saving approximately $320,000 annually on utility bills. Over the next 25 years, this solar array will help provide financial certainty and stability, by providing more than $8 million in utility savings.”
In addition to the financial savings, the system will also help in California’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The system will cut emissions by the equivalent of burning 1.6 million pounds of coal or nearly 166,000 gallons of gasoline every year.
This new PV array deployment leverages Net Energy Metering Aggregation (NEMA), enabling installation of Medeiros’ solar array where it can can return dividends on once unproductive ground. CalCom Solar will be deploying NEXTracker technology in this array, technology designed to help agricultural customers increase energy yield while lowering costs.
CalCom Solar is a California-based solar provider serving agriculture and water districts. CalCom has developed proprietary Solar AG Energy (SAGE) analysis software that analyzes numerous factors —including historical and future rate increases, water/irrigation patterns, crop types, etc.—to generate precise energy projections. Visit here for more information.
Source – Dairy Herd Management