SMA Inverters Help California Farm to Save on Costly Irrigation

R.A. Sano Farms, located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, is a large farm that grows tomatoes and a variety of other row crops.

Farm owner Alan Sano has always faced a challenge because tomatoes require large amounts of watering, and in a place where surface water is limited, he had to use groundwater from wells on the farm to irrigate his crops. This is extremely costly because pumping from wells requires a great deal of electricity.

To offset those costs, Sano turned to JKB Energy, a tried-and-true expert for agricultural and commercial projects, to install two 750 kW fixed ground-mount systems for his irrigation wells. JKB used two different sites to take advantage of existing utility transformers and install the maximum solar capacity on each one – thus avoiding significant upgrade costs for Sano’s farm.

Both sites combine for a 1,500 kW system that saves R.A. Sano Farms nearly $361,000 per year. The system will also offset more than 93 million pounds of CO₂ over the next 25 years.

JKB Energy used 28 SMA Sunny Tripower inverters for the system, which are the ideal inverters for flexible, efficient installations.

“We value long-term business relationships and reliable products. SMA is the clear industry leader on both of these points, and they’ve been a terrific partner over the years. They have the history and reputation to back up their product claims and services,” said Chad Cummings, Director of Sales & Marketing for JKB Energy.

JKB Energy has been a long-valued partner to SMA, incorporating effective designs using the Sunny Tripower line of inverters for agriculture-related installations.

We are glad that SMA inverters are helping R.A. Sano Farms save on its electricity bills and focus more on farming.