Vessey and Company, a long-time produce grower in central California, will generate surplus energy at its administrative office using solar power.

The agricultural company owns and operates a 10,000-acre produce farm in the Imperial Valley of California. The farm has been in the family for four generations and uses both traditional and organic growing methods, according to a press release about the project.

“It’s going to be enough to offset at least 80 to 90 percent of our use at our main offices,” said Jackson Vessey.

The 572 solar panels will generate more energy than the facility uses during the peak season, feeding into the grid and offsetting costs during the winter when the panels will produce less energy, according to a press release about the project.

Vessey said going solar has long been a dream for his family.

“It’s something my dad has talked about before,” he said.

Sunvalley Solar, which has announced several contract in the central agricultural region of California over the last few weeks, approached Vessey and Company at the end of 2010, Vessey said.

The pitch was solid, he said. And since it was something his family-owned company had been thinking about anyway, it made sense to go through with it.

“We’re in the Imperial Valley,” he said. “I think we have about 364 and a half days of sun here. It’s a great resource. But it’s not like we’re in San Diego or L.A. here. It’s a population of just 100,000 residents.”

The rural nature of the area meant that there weren’t a lot of companies to go to and ask about solar installation when the company became interested in doing it, Vessey said. That’s why it was nice for Vessey to have Sunvalley, located in Walnut, approach them.

“We operate a lot of equipment here,” Vessey said. “We have tractors, diesel tractors.”

He said the farm’s operating process makes it a big energy consumer, and he was happy to have an opportunity to offset some of that use with solar power generation.

The 50-kilowatt solar photovoltaic project cost about $249,964, according to a press release. But about 78 percent of that expense was offset by local rebates and incentives combined with federal tax credits.

Image courtesy of Vessey and Company.