Their 2 arrays, finally installed and almost on-line, will produce 13.4 KW of power, taking care of 30% of the electricity needs for CN Smith Farm, 325 South Street, EB. Dave Tyler, CN Smith office manager, spearheaded the project: “CN Smith Farm will own the system and it will have paid for itself in 2 years. The panels work on cloudy days and sunny days; we only need to worry about hail; they are made of glass.” The total project cost will be about $68,250.
Chris Smith, co-owner of the farm with his sister, Caryl Guarino, heard about another farm’s solar project and decided to check into it. “We started writing the grant with Newell Thomas of Lighthouse Electric back in April 2015. Once we got it, we worked with East Bridgewater’s Conservation Commission and the building inspector to get the perfect spot,” said Tyler. Chris, Caryl and Dave are all so very excited that it is almost on line, as it was a challenging procedure. Finding the best location was hard. Originally it was roof top, but when that didn’t work out, the search was on for the perfect spot. Taking into account distance from the store and greenhouses, proximity to the wetlands and their patron’s foot traffic, it took scoping out three locations until everything came together.
“Luckily we were able to get a three-month extension from the MDAR on the grant,” added Tyler. “We need to be on line by the end of September to receive the grant.”
We congratulate CN Smith in their dedication to making their energy supply more earth friendly!
~ Jacquelyn Rose
