Blueberry Farm Harvests the Sun in Central Florida

Organization: Island Grove Ag Products - Arcadia, FL

Industry:
Agriculture

Introduction:
Island Grove Ag Products is one of Florida’s largest blueberry farms. With over 300 acres of production blueberry fields and 15 acres in their nursery division, their administration offices and packaging facilities are an essential part of their operations.

Opportunity:
Island Grove Ag Products was interested in reducing the energy expenses in their office and packaging facility. They also realized that harvesting sunlight can be as profitable as growing blueberries and that going green would be good for the image of their business.

Solution:
QuickBeam Energy designed and installed a 24.6kW solar PV system on the grounds of Island Grove Ag Products. This system covers almost 100% of the power consumption in their office space and maximized the rebates available at the time.

Benefits:

The Island Grove system will produce an average 3,500 kilowatt hours of electricity a month
This represents as much as $500 a month in power savings
30% tax credit from the Federal Government
$100,000 rebate from the State of Florida
The solar system is used to power the farm’s processing facility office space. The building consumes its power from the solar electric system, reducing its utility expenses and peak charges. When the system produces more than the building consumes, the excess electricity is put back into the electric grid, effectively causing their power meter to spin backwards.

Project Details:
Location: Arcadia, FL
Installation Date: October, 2009
System Size: 24.6kW
Number of solar panels: 120
Solar panel model: Evergreen ESA-205 fa3
Inverter Manufacturer: SMA Sunny Boy
Mounting Equipment: Unirac
Estimated Payback: 3.5 years