Green Careers Texas and Restorative Farms have built an 800-ft2 outdoor classroom, training roof and event space on urban farmland in Dallas powered by PV and battery components donated by SolarEdge. A community model for the use of resilient, renewable energy sources, the facility will allow Green Careers Texas to train individuals for jobs in residential and commercial solar installation, as well as create clean power for operations at Restorative Farms, which provides fresh produce to local neighbors in need.
Credit: Green Careers Texas Instagram
“SolarEdge is proud to be a catalyst for positive change in Dallas through our collaboration with Green Careers Texas and Restorative Farms,” said Bertrand Vandewiele General Manager of SolarEdge, North America. “Our commitment to empowering communities with sustainable energy solutions aligns seamlessly with the vision of this transformative project. Together, we’re illuminating a path towards a greener and more resilient future for Dallas, showcasing the enduring impact of clean energy on both livelihoods and the environment.”
Located in a food desert in the lowest-income area of Dallas, Restorative Farms integrates sustainable food production, processing, distribution and consumption to enhance the environmental, economic, social and nutritional health needs of the community. Having supplied more than 378,000 vegetables to the local community, the farm faced adversity in 2021 with a grid failure during extreme weather, resulting in the loss of crucial seedlings stored in a refrigerated container.
The microgrid, featuring a 28-module roof-mounted solar system with SolarEdge power optimizers, maximizes energy production by mitigating the impact of shading from nearby trees. Additional components donated by SolarEdge include a 10-kW inverter, two 10-kW batteries, a Backup Interface, and an EV charger for future electric delivery vans.
This sustainable microgrid not only powers critical farm operations but also serves as a hands-on training system for Green Careers Texas’s employment program. Since opening the training facility on the Restorative Farms site, Green Careers Texas has trained more than 50 individuals for future careers in solar installation and sales. The new site will now serve as a permanent home base for the program, which previously moved from site to site for classes.
Tracy Wallace, Executive Director of Green Career Texas, commended SolarEdge’s technology stating, “SolarEdge’s design and functionality, combined with ease of integration, perfectly aligns with our goals. As Restorative Farms plans to expand with a larger refrigerated container, SolarEdge’s design flexibility will ensure the farm is able to easily provide enough energy to power the new container in addition to all its other equipment and processes.”
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