Alternative energy down on the farm
By Gail Miller

The quest for farm-level energy savings spurs one company to deliver renewable energy options to individual producers.

Energy prices have been brutal. With uncertainties ahead and little relief in sight, farmers must become more energy efficient to protect their bottom line. To that end, some farmers have discovered they just might benefit from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, solar thermal and geothermal options.

While most renewable energy companies focus on urban homeowners, a new player called Farmergy offers farmers and rural homeowners access to renewable energy solutions.

“Energy costs on the farm have risen from 5 percent to 14 percent,” said Mark Green, CEO and founder of Farmergy. “I am passionate about renewable energy and want to help the environment and reduce our dependency on foreign oils. Agriculture is near and dear to my heart—it’s the backbone of the country. We want to help put more money in farmers’ pockets rather than putting it in utility bills.”

The company, based in Kirkwood, Mo., opened in January 2007. It currently offers renewable energy solutions for livestock and grain farmers and other rural residents in 21 states.

Energy solutions
“We put together a comprehensive program to help farmers by reducing energy costs and dependency on utility companies,” Green said. “It is a complex process to go from energy analysis to product sourcing and complete installation.”

Using the company’s proprietary software, SmartEnergy PRO, the company computes a broad range of data to determine each customer’s unique energy situation. To meet varying needs, there are three levels of energy planning services: Smart Energy Basic, Smart Energy Plus and Smart Energy Complete. Depending on the plan, costs range from $349 to $2,200.

Here is how the process works for the Smart Energy Complete plan. First, a customer calls and talks with a Farmergy engineer or agronomist to answer about an hour’s worth of questions specific to the property and needs. The answers are entered into the software to create an energy plan for the property.

Meanwhile, satellite imagery plus wind and solar maps are obtained and reviewed to provide the best solution. A blueprint of the property is created. Then a complete plan is compiled, and a Farmergy incentive specialist finds and submits applications for tax credits, grants and loans the customer qualifies for. Eligibility varies by state and municipality. From these beginnings, a Farmergy engineering consultant selects the best products and locates a Farmergy certified installer to implement the energy plan. A return on investment and payback is calculated. The installer visits the site to verify the plan. Finally, installation is completed and the energy output continues to be monitored.

“We do the heavy lifting so farmers can stick to what they know best—farming,” Green said. “Our goal is to make plans reasonable and efficient.”

For example, increasing energy costs were cutting into a poultry operation’s bottom line. After running SmartEnergy PRO software, results showed that converting to solar and geothermal heat would significantly cut the operation’s energy costs.

“In most cases you have to expect at least 5 years for a return on investment,” Green added.

Depending on what system fits an operation, installations run from $5,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. The average system runs from $30,000 to $50,000. But a Farmergy consultation could also provide simple, inexpensive solutions such as remote water pumping, drip irrigation for greenhouses, and using solar electricity for outbuildings to offset electric costs.

“One of the biggest challenges is that people have to look at renewable energy sources for other reasons than immediate payback. Other benefits include reducing carbon emissions, reducing dependence on utilities and indirect paybacks such as reducing operational strains like fluctuating monthly utility costs,” Green added.

“If you are interested in renewable energy, it is worth running a plan to see if the payback and benefits work for your situation,” Green said.

Since January Green and company have completed more than 100 plans and about 50 installations.

Experience and certified installers
Henry Rentz, vice president of installations, sales, and service, joined Farmergy when his company, Missouri Valley Renewable Energy, was purchased. Rentz has firsthand experience with the importance of alternative energy sources. He went without being able to water his livestock for 6 days when a storm knocked out the electricity at his farm.

“I knew there had to be a better way and I searched for solutions to benefit agriculture,” he said.

Rentz oversees the company’s certified installers.

“We have high standards and look for the best independent installers. Each must have 4 years of experience and is required to complete several levels of training. In addition, they must understand agriculture and have completed extensive agricultural installations,” he said.

Rentz has been involved in a number of livestock watering installations like the remote equestrian riding trail watering system at Cuivre River Park near Troy, Mo. He also worked on a solar powered green house at the University of Missouri funded through grants with the university, and a ventilation, heating, watering and irrigation system on an organic farm.

Grass roots effort boosts renewable energy
Rentz is part founder of Renew Missouri, a growing coalition of citizens and organizations supporting sound renewable energy policy in Missouri. The group helped boost renewable energy in Missouri when it helped write House Bill 54, called the Easy Connection Act, which passed in June. The act establishes “true net metering,” which credits an owner of a renewable energy system at a one-to-one rate for electricity “sold” back to the grid.

“This victory is a critical first step to bring Missouri's renewable energy policy up to the national standard,” Rentz said. “The Easy Connection Act establishes uniform procedures to allow Missourians to connect a small renewable energy system to the electric grid in a quick, safe, and reliable manner.”

Although the deadline for the farm bill’s Renewable Energy Grant and Loan Program has passed. Green recommends preparing for next year.

Harnessing the sun
A recent project for Rentz was Triple F farms in Swiss and Hermann, Mo. There, Brad Fricke, his wife, Cheryl and daughter Chelten raise calves on grass. And, unusual for that far north, they graze Bermuda grass.

Brad Fricke’s dilemma was how to bring power to an isolated 145-acre grazing operation. He needed the local power utility to run electricity to the site. Plus the operation needed a well and network of pipes to deliver water to paddocks. But, the combination of these pricey needs wasn’t an economically sound option, so his father advised him to contact Rentz.

Rentz put together a system to power the property with a 12-panel, 2-kilowatt solar power system with a sun tracker, inverter and battery backup for rainy days. More than 50,000 gallons of water pump through the system each day and fill 11 thousand-gallon self-watering tanks. The system includes more than 5,000 feet of
4-inch pipe, and 6,000 feet of 2-inch underground pipe connected by manifolds. Water comes from a 3 to 4-acre pond in the center of the property. Submersible pumps just below the surface move the water through the system. The solar panel also powers 35,000 feet of high-tension electric fence.

With Rentz’s help, Fricke received grants through EQIP for fencing and cross fencing, and from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to help with solar pumps and panels.

For the carrying capacity Rentz puts on the pasture, irrigation is a necessity on these sandy Missouri River soils. The site is divided into 21 paddocks of about 4 acres each. And Fricke recently tapped Farmergy to add 20 moveable irrigation pods to water the paddocks. Each pod covers a 25-foot radius and pumps 1.8 gallons per minute.

“Bermuda grass likes the soil, has good carrying capacity and is good for the traffic. It comes back every 21 days, but needs irrigation,” Fricke said. “The solar system has been wonderful and trouble free. I don’t have to worry about power outages anymore. If I didn’t install this system, I wouldn’t be able to run the cattle operation and grow the Bermuda grass.”

It is one of the largest solar rotational grazing operations in the United States and its design allows for expansion, according to Rentz.

To learn more about Farmergy, visit www.farmergy.com.  

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