The largest rice plant solar installation in the U.S. will be dedicated on Wednesday, June 18 at 11:30 AM at the Far West Rice plant in Nelson, California.
The cost of the $6.5 million installation was partially offset with $1.8 million in solar rebates from PG and E and is expected to generate 1 Megawatt per year, meeting approximately 70-80% of the total energy costs of the rice plant.
Installed by Pacific Power Management, LLC, this large, ground-mounted array includes more than 5,500 Mitsubishi Electric solar panels.
With rapidly rising energy costs, the solar installation will provide predictable energy costs for Far West,
helping to reduce their costs for the milling and processing of rice and, when the mill is not operating, their solar system will feed electrical power back into PG and E's electrical grid.
Greg Johnson, Executive Vice President of Far West Rice, Inc. said "Going solar made sense from a business standpoint. Our electricity bill will be lower and the installation also means that our communities can breathe easier and enjoy California's beauty with less air pollution. We are excited to be involved in this technology and know that it will exceed our expectations."
Mark Frederick, managing partner of Pacific Power Management, commenting on Far West's installation, said: "Far West Rice showed great initiative in going solar. They have a system now that sets the green standard in the rice industry and gives them a competitive advantage that will only grow as electricity prices increase."
Gina Heng, Gina Heng, Director of Sales and Marketing for Mitsubishi Electric, USA – Photovoltaic Division, said "We are pleased our solar panels technology has been used for this major, agricultural installation. Agribusiness is just as concerned as we are about the rising cost of energy and solar is a very viable option to help provide predictable energy costs over the long-term."
Commenting on the new installation, Lia White, Executive Manager of service and sales at PG and E said: "We applaud Far West Rice for its vision and wisdom to better manage their energy costs while also helping the environment. "Advancing solar is consistent with our customers' energy vision and our goals of encouraging the development of clean and renewable power."
