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You know solar energy has gone mainstream when it trickles into the daily operation of a big government facility. In this case I am not talking about solar-powered, top-secret missile launchers – or solar-powered, military radios. No, I am talking about the new tree irrigation system at the <a href=”http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-30-00-00″>U.S. National Arboretum</a> in Washington DC.</p>
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According to a report published by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) the National Arboretum has installed a solar-powered drip irrigation system in one of its remote nurseries that’s about a half mile from the nearest power line. The new system consists of six photo voltaic panels that collect sunlight, a battery that stores the energy, and an inverter that converts the stored energy into electricity used to run the nursery’s drip-irrigation system.</p>
<p> This project was a staff-driven initiative to cut operation costs. The savings increase with each day the system is in use. In this case, installing the solar-electric system was less expensive than running power lines to the nursery. And the electricity will be virtually free for the 25 year expected lifespan of the PV panels.</p>
<p> Photo courtesy USDA.</p>
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<a href=”http://www.grit.com/biographies/oscar-h-will” target=_self>Hank Will</a>
<em> raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. Connect with him on </em>
<a title=Google+ href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/117459637128204205101/posts” target=_blank rel=author>Google+</a>.</p>
