Biddle Farms Boosts Sustainability with Two Solar Arrays

This Joy, Illinois family farm operation was already focused on sustainability. Solar was a natural fit as a source of clean energy. StraightUp Solar worked with the farm on two solar array projects.

The larger of the two solar projects powers their feed mill operation. It is a 316.4 kilowatt (kW) array made up of 904 REC 345 watt solar panels, estimated to produce around 429,020 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy the first year. That’s roughly over $33,000 in savings in year one! The anticipated cashflow payback is approximately 3.6 years. After that, 100% of the energy this location uses will be offset by the solar array.

The second array helps power their pork finisher operation nearby. This 49.7 kW array includes 142 REC 350 watt panels with an estimated annual production of 71,477 kWh of energy. In the first year, they’ll likely save nearly $6,000 on their energy bill.

Combined, these two solar arrays help the Illinois region offset 354 Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide annually. That’s equivalent to 76.4 passenger vehicles driven for one year, or nearly 390,000 pounds of coal burned, or about 40 average home’s energy usage for one year, or carbon sequestered by 462 acres of US forests in one year.

Why StraightUp Solar?
“We were looking at putting in a larger system and from the first encounter with StraightUp Solar they knew all of the regulations and steps our system would have to adhere to. Not only were they incredibly knowledgeable about the entire solar process, but they were also friendly and easy to work with.”

-Miranda Biddle