The potato field at CSS Farms is now watered by clean energy through the POWR2 POWRBANK portable energy storage system. Milton CAT provided the POWRBANK fitted with a solar PV trailer for a true cycle of reliable sustainable energy, day and night.
CSS Farms is a multi-state agricultural business. Their potato farm in Bliss, NY, is one of the premier chip suppliers in the country. The farm is expansive, and the irrigation system is set far from the road. It requires an off-grid, portable power source to water the crop three to four months out of the year.
Milton CAT, an energy solutions provider, has been working with CSS Farms each summer, ensuring they are equipped with a reliable power solution to run the irrigation system. In summer 2021, the concept of integrating a sustainable energy storage solution from POWR2 was raised.
POWR2 POWRBANKs are energy storage systems that can be used in combination with diesel, natural gas or renewable energy sources such as solar or wind. POWRBANKs are portable and often used in temporary power applications to reduce CO2 emissions or sound emissions and assist companies with meeting their sustainable energy goals.
CSS Farms believes in an ongoing commitment to food safety and creating a sustainable food source for generations to come. They quickly took to the idea of adding a clean energy component to complement their sustainable vision. Milton CAT installed a POWR2 POWRBANK Pro 30.60/208.
One unique challenge in this application is that a team member needed to go onsite to the main shop building, find a towable diesel generator that worked, take it to the field prior to sunrise and hook it up. The team member would then stay there for 5-6 hours while the fields were watered and then take the generator back to the shop. To resolve this challenge, the POWRBANK was installed and fitted with a portable solar trailer from POWR2.
"With the ability to remotely activate and deactivate the inverters which supply power to the [irrigation system] pivot controller, CSS Farms can turn the power on, wait for the pivot to connect to the network, then start irrigating without ever sending someone out there in a truck," said Zach Claus, Rental Sales Representative at Milton CAT. "This saves almost half a day of labor for each field."
The power from the solar panels now acts as the main source for the load, while the POWRBANK provides clean energy in times of no or low solar irradiance. The POWR2 system ensures that CSS Farms has the power needed while relieving the need for a team member to make a trip to the site.
"One of the major benefits to this application, aside from fuel savings and reduced maintenance frequency, is that the labor saved is HUGE," said Claus.
The POWRBANK Solar Trailer is comprised of 12 X 350 Wp panels on a fold-out frame mounted on a heavy-duty, twin-axle trailer. The solar panels are on a sliding rack, minimizing the space needed and allowing deployment in minutes. This combination was so successful in 2021 that the system is back at work at CSS Farms for the 2022 growing season.
"The CSS Farms application is an ideal example of how the POWR2 hybrid system can solve unique energy infrastructure challenges," said Tim Doling, Director of Business Development at POWR2. "At POWR2, our goal is to help companies like CSS Farms make the smooth transition from traditional energy to sustainable power solutions."
The POWRBANK with solar trailer is ideal for many temporary power needs, especially for off-grid agriculture applications like crop irrigation. For more information on using sustainable energy solutions, contact Milton CAT and POWR2.
About POWR2 - info@powr2.com
POWR2 is a manufacturer of rental-ready, reliable, safe, and emission-free portable power products. POWR2's power solutions help businesses run operations on clean energy and meet energy efficiency and sustainability goals. Innovative solutions from POWR2 drive profitability and sustainability with cutting-edge technology. POWR2 is headquartered in Bethel, CT, with distribution worldwide. POWR2.com
About Milton CAT
Milton CAT is privately held, owned by the Milton family. From its start in a dirt floor garage in Concord, NH, Milton CAT has grown to 12 locations, spanning a six-state territory; it has over 1,000 employees, many with 20, 30 or 40 years at the company. Milton CAT is widely recognized by Caterpillar as one of its top-performing dealerships worldwide. The company's products and technology can be found in logging camps and nuclear facilities; dairy farms, US Army Defense installations, hospitals, lobster boats and underground salt mines; solid waste landfills, data centers, paving projects and ferries; commuter rail trains, quarries, school buses and of course, job sites of all sizes.
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Original Source: POWR2 and Milton CAT Provide Clean, Sustainable Energy to CSS Farms
