![]() ![]() He expects it will take a year for all the planning, permitting, zoning approvals, construction and interconnection. Nevills said that with the REAP grant, the likely return on investment will be three years. ![]() They are hoping to qualify for other grants as well. Nevills has helped the Smedberg hire a grant writer. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP. Their financing will be largely through the U.S. They hope to execute a contract with 93Energy by 2024. Rachael Smedberg says they are still in the design and funding stage for the solar project. ![]() It will power their newer electrical needs, which include irrigation pumps, a walk-in cooler, a walk-in freezer and lights and fans for their food-growing greenhouses. The solar power system will generate more electricity than they are currently using, allowing them to expand their operation. Their new system will be independent of local transmission lines. In the case of Tulip Tree Gardens, the farmers, not the electric grid, will be the only end users of the power their solar panels produce. (Sieja and Stumbaugh recently developed the Evanston Pour coffee shop on Dempster Street.)Īllen Nevills of 93Energy inspectis the farm’s electrical service Credit: Evan Girard Susan Stenander, an Evanston consultant and a former owner of Village Farmstand, first suggested that the Smedbergs consider the solar option. Stenander recommended they consider 93Energy, a solar business based in Skokie and co-owned by Evanston residents Eric Payne, Mike Sieja and John Stumbaugh. Stenander met Sieja at a regular bocce ball meet-up behind Union Squared Pizza. The Smedbergs are researching how they might use photovoltaic solar panels to provide electricity on their farm. They sell hemp-derived wellness products and operate a seasonal market on their farm every Thursday from May through September. The Smedbergs’ main crop is organically grown whole-hemp CBD. In addition to buying Village Farmstand in June, the Smedbergs also own the 120-acre Tulip Tree Gardens farm, about 1½ hours south of Evanston in Beecher, Illinois. The Smedbergs on their farm in Beecher, Illinois. ![]()
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