TodaySolar power in use at South Middleton farm
Dickinson College students use farm as teaching tool
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Article RatingThe Dickinson College organic farm staff say they are excited about the possibilities its new renewable energy system brings to their South Middleton Township farm.
Jenn Halpin, farm manager at the Park Drive site, home of a recently installed 5.25 kilowatt grid-tied solar panel system, said the project allows them to move forward with goals of incorporating as much renewable energy as possible at the farm as they look to expand all-natural food production operations for the college and local food banks.
Currently, about 90 percent of the food goes to dining halls on campus, with other contributions being made to Project SHARE food banks in the greater Carlisle area.
"We’ve been applying for different grants to enable us to do that," Halpin said about alternative energy options Thursday as the farm welcomed state Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff on his annual Harvest Tour. "Our goal is that it will supply 50 percent of all electrical needs in the barn."
Built in 1873, the barn will be the site of main operations at the farm. The staff will wash and store its produce there as well as package it, Halpin said. Walk-in coolers, lights and other electrical needs will be powered by the new solar energy source, providing the farm with a larger venue to ramp up produce production.
"We expect to have salad and leafy greens for most of the year," said Matt Steiman, biodiesel project supervisor and assistant manager of the farm. "Virtually all year we will provide lettuce to the dining halls."
An ongoing greenhouse project, expected to be complete within the next two weeks, will play a big role in those efforts, Steiman noted.
Halpin said she hopes that within three years farm staff will be able to expand production from 1.5 acres of usable land to as much as 11 to 13 acres.
"This is our first year of production supplying to the college," she said. "The goal is to increase volume each year."
Eight students, on average, work at the farm part-time during the academic school year. Other full-time students come in during the summer harvesting season to work with Halpin and Steiman.
The college also offers two summer internships for farmers in training.
Funded in part through an Energy Farmer grant and installed by SunTechnics, solar solutions specialists, the ground-based solar grid system cost the farm about $40,000.
According to Sarah Hetznecker with SunTechnics, the money is an investment because most solar projects can expect returns within as little as seven years with rebates and other incentives geared to promote "green" initiatives.
"You hope you design a system where at the end of the month you have produced more power than you used and spin the meter backwards where you end up with a zero power bill," she said.
She said the system installed at the Dickinson farm could supply as much as 50 to 100 percent of a typical household’s energy needs, depending on the user.
"It drives people further towards energy efficiency," she said about the push to go solar. "Most people that choose solar are very efficient anyway."
The grid creates DC power from the sun, according to Hetznecker, and then sends that to an inverter mounted next to the main service panel of the building. From there, it is converted to grid-quality AC power, she says, and is then backfed to the main service panel.
"When the sun is shining, it’s producing electricity and pushing into the main panel," she said.
Solar energy is used first to power the facility. At night, the house will draw seamlessly through the grid.
When the building is not using the electricity, the power feeds into the grid system and that reflects as credit to the farm, lowering their utility bill.
"It’s like having your own power plant that runs parallel to the utility," said Gary Sheehan, also with SunTechnics.
Wolff said alternative energy projects could significantly reduce the impact of heavy power equipment used across the state, create new economic opportunities for Pennsylvania and help protect national security.
"Pennsylvania can benefit greatly from the use of alternative energy in the form of biofuels," he said.
The farm also recycles vegetable oil from local restaurants into biodiesel to fuel lawn mowers and farm equipment.
Wolff said alternative energy sources present a "strong initiative" to reduce dependence on foreign oil. He said farmers can play a leading role in Pennsylvania’s drive towards energy independence.
The annual Harvest Tour includes visits to each of the seven regions in the state. Wolff shares the information gathered during the tour -- Thursday featured stops at a Dauphin County alternative fuel stove manufacturer and an Adams County town meet to learn about alternative energy resources -- with Gov. Ed Rendell as he fine-tunes existing programs and establishes new agricultural initiatives.
"It’s an exciting time for farmers," Wolff said. "The potential is endless."
In the future, Dickinson College President William Durden said they hope to include grade school and secondary education students in the learning process at the organic farm.
