by Bea Peterson
On Friday, December 17, Beatrice Berle of Berle Farm on Beechwood Road in Hoosick welcomed Congressman-elect Chris Gibson, NYS Assemblyman Tony Jordan, Frank Murray, President and CEO, NYSERDA, Scott Collings, Rural Energy Coordinator for NY State, Rural Development Division of the US Dept. of Agriculture, Michael Stangl, Regional VP of Alteris Renewables, area farmers, HFCS students from the Government and Environmental Science classes and the media to the farm to view the pole mounted solar panel system that was recently installed. The farm receives 60 to 70 percent of its significant power needs from the 7.74 kw system installed by Alteris. The project was partially financed through a US Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America (REAP) Grant and a Small Business Energy Grant from the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Lauded for her courage in pursuing such an endeavor, Berle said the support she received from all the organizations involved made it easy for her to go ahead with the project.
The cost of the setup was about $60,000. Berle borrowed $15,000 to cover her portion of the cost. The rest was covered by grants. She expects the system will pay for itself within three to four years. Her first electric bill since installing the system was almost half of her previous bill. “Farming requires a lot of energy,” she said. “Refrigeration of milk is a huge energy drain.” Farms have the open space for solar panels, she added. She encouraged other farmers not to be afraid to invest in such a system.
Berle, who has been ahead of the curve in her entire 21 year farming career, first raising goats, then going organic, then making cheese, believes this new infrastructure will put her 600 acre dairy farm on the map.
It was cold and overcast that day, but Berle said the panels were making power. She said they had come out one day when it was raining and the sky was light enough even then for making power.
Congressman-elect Chris Gibson said New York State is blessed with some of the smartest hardest working farmers in the Country. He commended Berle for her leadership in stepping forward and embracing solar energy. He said moving away from the use of fossil fuel can have an impact on this Country’s foreign policy. It also leads to a cleaner environment. He said he supports “an all of the above” energy policy, including natural gas that can be collected responsibly and nuclear power.
The Congressman said he had recently been appointed to the House Agriculture Committee and he plans to create an advisory committee of farmers. Such a committee will help him represent them better, he added. He said that to date there is very little representation for the Northeast on the Agriculture Committee and it is important for him to get a grasp on the needs of NY farmers and then “work across the aisle to attract incentives so that we can represent farmers’ interests in the Farm Bill of 2012.”
