THERMAL, CA – Living Herbs grower North Shore Greenhouses has broken ground on its $1.8 million solar project in southern California.
“There will always be naysayers telling us that it is too expensive to be earth-friendly,” said President and CEO Leo Overgaag. “We are hoping that we can be an example of a grower that is both earth-friendly and profitable in order to give others confidence to make a positive change for the environment.”
As part of the project, North Shore will utilize a ground-mounted system called Sun Tracker PV, which is designed to follow the curvature of the sun’s rays for the entire day in order to maximize the amount of solar power utilized each day, according to a press release.
North Shore was granted USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant, which will cover up to 25% of the project costs.
Since 2014, the company has been Sustainably Grown Certified. North Shore says that its growing methodology has enabled the company to use 70% less water than field grown crops and causes no soil depletion. In addition, the company has been using geothermal energy to heat the greenhouses on the cool winter nights since its inception over 25 years ago.
The project is expected to come in under budget with a three-month completion date.
