Nuance Energy, manufacturer of the patent-pending Osprey PowerPlatform and developer of distributed generation solar projects through its Central Valley AgWell Solar division, announced that four family farming operations in the Central Valley region of California have formed a “Solar Alliance” energy cooperative to install 3.54 MW of fixed-tilt and single-axis tracker ground-mount solar systems across 23 sites. When all sites are operational, the co-op’s total annual savings will exceed $725,000 in utility bills alone. Solar Alliance members will also be able to qualify for additional savings under California’s Net Energy Metering Aggregation (NEMA) program.

Four family farming operations in California’s Central Valley have formed a “Solar Alliance” energy cooperative to install 3.54 MW of fixed-tilt and single-axis tracker ground mount solar systems across 23 sites. When all sites are operational, the co-op’s total annual savings will exceed $725,000 in utility bills alone. Solar Alliance members will also be able to qualify for additional savings under California’s Net Energy Metering Aggregation (NEMA) program.

Among the challenges in California’s Central Valley is the local electric utility’s inability to upgrade the infrastructure needed for large, grid-tied solar arrays in a timely manner. To work around this limitation, Nuance Energy divided the Solar Alliance projects into multiple, smaller sites throughout Madera and Fresno counties in a cooperative arrangement. All adjacent parcels are eligible for net metering at retail rates, as well as certain tax exemptions under the Board of Equalization and California’s NEMA program.

Current members of the Solar Alliance include:

• Toor Farming, Inc. in Visalia with eight sites in Madera, Pixley, Tipton, Tulare and Visalia, including a test site currently owned and operated by Tabuchi Electric Company of America, generating a total of 1.72 MW
• Samran and Sons Farming Company, Inc. in Turlock with eight sites in Madera, Chowchilla and Turlock generating a total of 826 kW
• SunRise Farms Group in Visalia with five sites in Earlimart, Pixley, Polar and Visalia generating a total of 849 kW
• BR Samran Farms in Madera with two sites generating a total of 147kW

“With the reduction in the electric utility bill, combined with the tax savings and the substantially lower cost of installing ground mount solar energy using the Osprey PowerPlatform, Toors’ investment in solar power can pay for itself in under five years,” said Brian C. Boguess, Nuance Energy co-founder and CEO. “Tens of thousands of family-owned farms throughout California have the potential to save millions of dollars annually on their electric bills by installing solar power and energy storage, especially with changes in time-of-use rates being proposed by several utility districts. Instead of going to the utilities, the money saved could be contributing to local economies through greater crop yields, expanded operations and increased profits.”