PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A Sherwood, Ore. farm has turned to using solar panels to not only power their farm and store but also help protect plants from summer heat.

“Our Table Cooperative” sells a variety of crops, including lettuce, blueberries, apples, and nuts.

“We are trying to reimagine what the local food system could look like for the future—really it’s about bringing people together around food,” said Our Table Founder, Narendra Varma.

In 2023, the cooperative applied for Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Green Future Renewable Development Fund. The fund provided six solar towers and 168 solar panels. Officials at PGE said that the farm now generates 75 kilowatts of power, enough to power the whole property.

WATCH | Narenda Varma joins ARC PDX to discuss Our Table’s power solution

The solar towers are designed to follow the sun across the sky. That allows plants to have shade in different parts of the day.

“Most plants can only photosynthesize for seven to eight hours in a day, after that, additional sunshine just results in stress,” said Varma. “Kind of like when you sit on the beach— seven to eight hours you’re happy but after that, you’re starting to get a little sunburnt and cranky.”

Varma says he is saving $25,000 to $28,000 in energy annually.

There is a misconception that solar power doesn’t work because of the frequent cloud cover we have in the region.

“The sun shines every day of the week. Sometimes the cloud cover, when it is heavy, that you may have less solar production, but it doesn’t rely on a clear blue sky in order to generate power, solar generates in the winter, fall and spring,” said Elyssia Lawrence, senior manager of customer programs.

PGE’s EXPLORE SOLAR PROGRAM

PGE says pairing solar panels with batteries is creating a virtual power plant. One Table is using batteries to help provide power to not only their property, but also putting renewable power back into the grid.

“It helps provide a really clean energy resource for our virtual power plant, so that we can help support the grid with clean energy at any time of day,” said Lawrence. “When you partner that with batteries, that’s what allows that any time of day.”

“Because we are a grocery store for the local community, our battery storage allows the community to come and buy fresh food in situations when there’s extended outages,” said Varma.

PGE has free resources available on its website if you are interested in learning more about solar energy or having solar panels installed.