Lighten the load

Northwoods Nursery received local, state and federal incentives to install its solar system.Earlier this year Northwoods Nursery/One Green World in Molalla, Ore., flipped the switch on its 12.6 kilowatt solar system. The system is expected to offset more than 10 percent of the grower’s annual energy use.

“We’re very committed to sustainability,” said Laura O’Leary, sustainability director at Northwoods. “We’re always looking for ways to reduce our use of fossil fuel, including energy conservation methods and the types of energy sources we use.”

Northwoods grows ornamentals and edibles for wholesale and retail through its One Green World retail company.
Tanner Creek Energy installed the grid-tied solar system, which is mounted on the roof of the company’s multiuse building. The building houses Northwoods’ retail, shipping and receiving operations.

Oregon offers incentives that make solar “a worthwhile project” O’Leary said.

“Between local, state and federal incentives, we had 75 percent of the project’s cost covered,” she said.

The payback on this project is less than five years, which includes the 75 percent payments.

The grower received a federal grant in lieu of a tax credit for producing electricity using renewable sources. The Oregon Department of Energy provided the company with a business energy tax credit. The local utilities pay into the Energy Trust of Oregon, which is funded by a 3 percent public purpose charge on utility bills, O’Leary said.

“Those checks were written to us a few months after the project was completed, which made it doable,” she said.

The company is not producing more electricity with the solar system than it uses.

“This is offsetting electricity that we’re buying off the grid,” she said.

Northwoods also is evaluating whether it’s cost effective to extract heat from its pond and a large rainwater harvesting tank onsite by using heat exchangers rather than installing a geothermal energy system. The heat would be used in the radiant heating system in the greenhouses.

“Northwoods is a leader in sustainability in the Northwest, and we are proud to be able to help them reduce their use of non-renewable energy sources and lower their energy costs,” said Alan Hickenbottom, founder of Tanner Creek. Northwoods’ other sustainable practices include an efficient waste management system, biodiesel equipment and electric carts. 


For more: Northwoods/One Green World, www.onegreenworld.com. Tanner Creek Energy, www.tannercreekenergy.com.