Fertilizer formulator, warehousing, and soil and water amendment supplier Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. has joined the growing list of San Joaquin Valley companies working with Conergy to optimize their solar energy options with the use of thin film photovoltaics (PV).
Construction has begun on a 188kW fixed-mount solar energy system that will offset Verdegaal’s utility bills by 99 percent and meet 82 percent of the company’s energy needs. It is expected to save the company an annual $60,000 in utility costs. Interconnection is expected in July.
According to Conergy’s West Coast Director of Projects David Vincent, First Solar’s thin film solutions are proving increasingly popular in California’s sun-drenched Central Valley because of how well they perform in hot, dusty, and low or diffused-light conditions.
"The San Joaquin Valley’s notorious valley fog, its high levels of airborne particulate matter and the region’s disking, plowing, harvesting, and trucking operations can create sustained low-visibility conditions in this part of the state," notes Vincent. "First Solar’s thin film solutions are designed to optimize energy output for companies operating in these conditions."
Because the efficiency of their semiconductor material is less susceptible to cell temperature increases, it generates more electricity under high ambient temperatures. It also converts low and diffused light to electricity more efficiently. Both lab and field results are showing notably higher energy output for First Solar’s thin film in these conditions. This is a benefit for Verdegaal not only in meeting its energy needs, but because surplus, peak-time energy produced by the Conergy system is credited back to Verdegaal’s utility bill.
Cutting costs for agricultural suppliers indirectly touches businesses and families across the U.S. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California is the No. 1 state in cash farm receipts and produces about 50% percent of the nation’s fruit, nuts and vegetables. California’s agricultural output features more than 400 commodities. Many crops are produced solely in California, and the majority of the state’s agricultural production comes from its sun-drenched Central Valley. Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. has been part of the state’s agricultural community and supporting the farmers who produce the nation’s food and fiber for more than three generations.
"Verdegaal Brothers has been supporting farmers with soil and water amendments that improve crop yields for nearly 35 years,” says Russ Verdegaal, president of Verdegaal Brothers, Inc. "We’re installing this system to improve our energy source in a way that improves our bottom line — and the quality of the air, water and land around us.”
(Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture.)
