Lettuce Shine at Our Table Cooperative
Size: 75.6kW / Installation: Summer 2024
The Lettuce Shine solar project, is (as far as we know) the first agrivoltaics microgrid in the U.S. Located at Our Table Cooperative Farm in Sherwood, Oregon and funded in part by Portland General Electric customers through PGE’s Renewable Development Fund, the project will allow the farm to grow lettuce and other heat-sensitive crops like lettuce under elevated, moving solar panels from Stracker Solar. Climate change is rapidly making it too hot for the farm to grow salad greens in the summer without shade, and the solar panels will provide that shade while also providing the farm with nearly all its annual electricity usage from the sun.
This effort will incorporate critical research from the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences that aims to provide a comprehensive overview of how the array will enhance crop production. The project’s unique design not only maximizes solar power generation but also offers shade to cool crops below.
With the inclusion of battery storage from Sol-Ark, Lettuce Shine ensures uninterrupted food supply even during natural disasters, highlighting its role in promoting resilience and sustainable agriculture practices in the local community.