Transcript:
In Madison, Wisconsin, solar is helping an organic farm achieve its mission of improving food access.
Troy Farm is a nonprofit project. It grows to donate, run CSA, and provide people with space for their own food.
It has not operated on-site electricity for years, so it stores produce in a cooler about a mile away.
Huber: “It’s extremely challenging in terms of the time it takes to have to travel back and forth and use other facilities in other facilities.”
This is frustrating for workers and increases labor costs, said the farm director Paul Huber.
Therefore, the farm installed two solar arrays – one solar array in 2019 and the other in 2023.
The energy they generate now powers two field coolers and a greenhouse.
Huber: “We have a machine that we call our giant salad spinner that rotates the vegetables dry so that something like tender green can hold better in storage.”
The energy can also be organized so that staff can water crops and wash vegetables on site.
Solar energy has changed the farm's business, so it operates more efficiently and workers are happier, Huber said.
Huber: “It's really daytime.”
Report Credit: Chavobart Digital Media
