Take the story of California rancher Dave Roberti as an example of what’s possible with agricultural solar panels. Dave runs a 6,000-acre operation with 450 cattle pairs and 2,500 acres of alfalfa production. Facing annual electricity costs of $150,000 to power eight deep-well pumps, he turned to solar energy to transform his bottom line.
After exploring his options, Dave chose a 500-kW photovoltaic (PV) system consisting of nearly 2,500 solar panels for farms, installed on three acres of unused ranchland. The panels were fitted with a single-axis pivot system that tracks the sun throughout the day, producing more than 1.2 million kW of electricity per year—enough to fully power his well pumps.
“The system is designed to meet my average use,” Roberti explains. If the system overproduces, Dave receives credits from his utility provider for the excess energy. With meticulous planning, his solar contractor analyzed five years of utility bills to perfectly size the system to fulfill his needs without overshooting.
"The best part?" Dave says, “I’ve traded an electricity bill for a mortgage payment. And in 10 years, once the system is paid off, I’ll have free electricity.”
