Local Sonoma Park Greenhouse Now Powered by the Sun
SolarCraft, with offices in Sonoma and Novato, donated and installed a solar electric system at the Sonoma Garden Park, the six-acre working farm on 7th Street East, given to the City of Sonoma by Pauline Bond and managed by Sonoma Ecology Center.
The solar power system will generate more electricity than currently used by the facility for lighting, irrigation, and ventilation of the nursery and greenhouse. Excess production will be fed back into the local utility grid, generating a bill credit which is a potential source of future revenue for the center, as well as having additional solar capacity for the installation of several greenhouses planned for the future.
The system features micro-inverters manufactured by Enphase Energy of Petaluma that will allow easy incremental expansion of the system in the future.
"We're delighted to have SolarCraft's solar installation at Sonoma Garden Park," said Richard Dale, Executive Director of Sonoma Ecology Center. "Their donation offers a perfect example of community support where it's needed; it helps with a key part of the Garden's operations and saves us future expenses, and it leverages grants, additional donations, and in-kind support to help our Garden grow."
About Sonoma Garden Park
Sonoma Garden Park is a six-acre working farm, a model of sustainable agriculture, and the educational campus of Sonoma Ecology Center. Located at 19996 7th Street East in Sonoma, the Garden Park offers a beautiful, natural environment with educational opportunities for both adults and children.
Donated to the City of Sonoma by Pauline Bond and managed by Sonoma Ecology Center, the Garden features a demonstration garden, butterfly garden, fig forest, straw bale barn, over 150 fruit trees, a solar well, interpretive displays and walking trails.
