Jun. 29, 2011 – SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Inovateus Solar is the integrator of choice for a 3.5 acre ground-mounted solar array for Sterman Masser Potato Farms located in Sacramento, Penn. For more than 250 years, the sun has helped eight generations of the Masser family grow potatoes on their family-owned farm. Now the sun will help pay the energy bill to operate one of the nation’s largest potato processing facilities with a new one-megawatt ground-mount solar project.
The decision to go solar was a natural evolution for Keith Masser, Chairman and CEO of Sterman Masser Inc. that employs 200. Green minded, the company earned an EPA award in 1998 for implementing Integrated Pest Management practices on the 4,600 acres of farmland where it limits chemical use, employs erosion control and crop rotation. Masser also compacts and recycles discarded packaging material. Workers store, wash, size and package 300 million pounds of potatoes each year at the Sacramento plant and at a sister facility in White Pigeon, Mich.
“In 2009, Pennsylvania Power & Light was deregulated, and we knew we were looking at paying more for electricity,” Masser says. “Solar could hedge against the expected higher rates. We decided the solar project was feasible when economic development funding became available last year.”
Masser hopes to sell back energy credits in Pennsylvania and possibly in Ohio. He expects his first solar project, which broke ground in October and was completed in late May, to pay for itself within five to 10 years.
Inovateus Solar supplied the engineering, procurement and construction for the project on land marginally suitable for farming. A key partner was Secco, Inc., a local general contractor, chosen for its expertise and knowledge of permitting and local resources. “We’ve worked with Secco before,” says Nathan Vogel, project manager for Inovateus Solar, “and knew of their abilities.”
Inovateus chose Schletter racking, two Xantrex GT500 inverters, and Schott Solar 230 watt polycrystalline modules for the solar panels. Shoals Technology also supplied some of the electrical components. Xantrex encased the inverters, including all electrical components, in concrete. “This ‘megawatt in a box’ was a first-time use of concrete,” Vogel says. “Xantrex has always used metal in the past.”
“Inovateus Solar was the contractor of choice,” says Keith Masser. “We selected them because they were cooperative, and we were able to negotiate a mutual contract with ease. We liked their connections with Schneider Electric and Secco. Their relationships and knowledge of this type of project have made it go smoothly.”
When Keith’s great, great, great, great grandfather Mathias Masser came to America from Germany in 1754, he brought along his special knowledge of growing potatoes. Little did he know that more than 250 years later German ingenuity from companies like Schott Solar and Schletter would help his descendants carry on the tradition.
To Learn More Contact Inovateus Solar Toll Free at: 877-876-SOLAR (76527) Phone: 574-485-1400
Fax: 574-485-1419 Email: info@inovateussolar.com
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