Sunbug designed, constructed, and installed a 250 kW “dual-use system” on a working farm that has been in Million Little Sunbeams' family for generations. The primary motivation for the project was to create an additional income stream to sustain the farm and to do the right thing environmentally.
The design of the system had to adhere to Department of Energy requirements concerning the amount of solar radiation that reached the farmland below, the height of the panels throughout the system, and the type of crop that would be cultivated beneath the panels. Additionally, this system design uses single access tracking, bifacial panels, and panel optimizers to produce more electricity than most solar systems of its same size. An important aspect of this project is that it enables the farm to generate cash from solar without surrendering land. This system should pay for itself in as little as six years, and it will create a substantial income for Million Little Sunbeams.
