Virnig Farm
January 27, 2015 News Release From David Winkelman, 218 764 2321, dw@ecowerc.com
Pierz, MN. Kevin and Mark Virnig of Virnig Farm announced today that they are now powering their dairy business partially from solar energy produced by an array of solar electric panels on their roof of their cow barn. The solar panels cover only about 4000 square feet of roof space and have a rated capacity of 39.36 kilowatts.
This is one of the largest solar arrays ever installed in the area. The solar panels are guaranteed to produce no less than 80 percent of this rated power for at least 25 years. This is the first dairy farm in the MN Power area with that size of array of solar electric panels.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels use the sun to make electricity.
The power is tracked here: http://egauge15868.egaug.es/index.html
Virnig Farm is no stranger to being a leader in sustainable farming. With several generations of experience in farming, with their specialty in large dairy, Virnigs know how to make a farm run well and pay for itself, and be more environmentally sustainable. Their cows are great producers for the 1st District Dairy, producing over 15,000 pounds of milk per day. They raise their own feed and hay on 240 acres that they own and another 190 they rent. Their butter-fat content and protein content are both above average.
Interestingly enough, they installed a solar panel on their farm house over 25 years ago for heating the house. They watched the solar panel produce heat reliably for almost 30 years so they were very interested in what solar might do for their farm operation. This past year, however, the State of MN and MN Power announced a Made in Minnesota solar incentive that made the pricing very attractive. Virnigs applied and were awarded the Made In MN incentive from Minnesota Power (an ALLETE Company) late last year.
Kevin Virnig had this to say: ”Everything kind of came together at the right time, the Made in MN solar bonus, the tax credits and the recently lower cost of solar panels made this a very good investment for us. David Winkelman of Innovative Power Systems stopped by, told us about the opportunity, but we were skeptical. Once we looked into it, we were sold. It will pay for itself in about 5 years and it’s guaranteed to work for 25 years!”
Innovative Power Systems (IPS) of St, Paul MN supplied the solar products which were made right here in MN and was the installer of the system. David Winkelman of IPS (who grew up on a farm in Benton County) was familiar with the dairy business, and once he saw the angle of the Virnig roof, he knew it would be a good solar location.
Ths solar panels were made in Minnesota, by a company called TenK Solar, out of Bloomington. The TenK company is a rapidly growing six year old company that has award-winning products and customers from around the world. See more at this website: www.tenksolar.com.
The Virnig 39.36 kilowatt array will produce an average of 50,000 kilowatt hours (kwh) per year, which at the cost of twelve cents per kwh, will yield about $6,000 per year or $500 per month, plus there are incentives like tax credits, rebates and a tariff. Minnesota has several incentives for solar that you can study here: http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?re=0&ee=0&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=MN.
For more information about solar for you, call David Winkelman at 218 764 2321 or www.winkelmansolar.com For more information about the Virnig Farm Solar, call Kevin Virnig at 320 232 3755.
For more information – info@winkelmansolar.com
