Success stories - Summer 2009

• It all Started in a Pub
   Great ideas often come at the oddest times and in the most unlikely places. And that’s exactly what happened to Gary Nystedt, City of Ellensburg’s Resource Manager. Nystedt was sitting in a Meathow Valley pub after attending a solar summit when he thought “what if customers bought their own solar panels and the city did the infrastructure”?
  
  
•  Solar Array Lightens Energy Load for Tree Nursery
  Verl Holden, owner of Holden Wholesale Growers in Silverton, Oregon has taken a real shine to the solar array he installed recently. The 29.6-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system produces electricity to help power the lights, water pumps, power equipment and computers at his nursery.
  
  
• Making Energy While the Sun Shines
  Whenever Stu Scott’s interest gets piqued, something new comes about. First, it was growing grapes to make wine for their family’s pleasure. Growing grapes just for their use didn’t last long and in1983 Camas Prairie Winery, a small, micro-boutique business emerged. And now, it’s solar energy.
  

One Solar Water Pump at a Time
Ever wonder what Snow Creek and Chimacum Creek have in common? Besides the fact they are both in Jefferson County, Washington. Here’s a hint: It has to do with solar energy, cattle, and water.

• Portable PV Array Fills Big Hole Stock Tanks
  A pump powered by the portable photovoltaic array fills stock tanks in the Big Hole Valley in Southwest Montana and saves riparian habitat.
  
  
• PV Modules Replace Generator on Gold Creek Cattle Operation
  Every summer, Jim Tomlinson pastures 20-25 cow/calf pairs or replacement heifers in timber and grassland several miles from the town of Gold Creek, Montana. The area is steep, rugged, and remote. And the cattle need water.
  
  
• Local Growers Harness Sun to Produce Row Crops, Meet Sustainability Goals
  Jeff Falen and Eleanor O’Brien named their business, Persephone Farm, after the Greek goddess of the seasons, but they could also have easily named the farm after Helios, the Greek god of the sun.  By installing solar photovoltaic panels on their property, Falen and O’Brien have harnessed the power of the sun to offset part of their farm’s electricity use with clean, renewable energy.