Agri-Industrial Plastics inaugurates solar array, battery

FAIRFIELD - Agri-Industrial Plastics hosted an inauguration ceremony Thursday, Oct. 24, at its plant in Fairfield to celebrate the completion of its solar array.

The 517-kilowatt array is on the roof of the company's building, and is accompanied by a 424-kilowatt Tesla battery system, making it the first solar project in the Midwest to incorporate this type of battery technology.

Agri, a leading manufacturer of blow-molded plastic parts, operates 27 production lines, 24 hours a day, which means intense energy needs. The battery energy storage system will extend the usefulness of the company's solar array into the night, saving it more than $42,000 per year, the company estimates.

Thursday's inauguration brought dignitaries from far and wide, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, to address a crowd of a few hundred people gathered outside Agri-Industrial Plastics. Reynolds spoke about her friendship with Agri President Lori Schaefer-Weaton, and how proud she was to see that Schaefer-Weaton was not only growing her business, but doing so in a sustainable way.

Reynolds said she was proud of Agri-Industrial Plastics for choosing an Iowa-based company, Ideal Energy based in Fairfield, to design and install the array and battery.

'This community deserves our praise in creating a culture of sustainability,” Reynolds said. 'Iowa is a proud leader in renewable energy, and I'm proud of the role the state government has played in fueling this economic growth.”

Troy Van Beek, co-founder of Ideal Energy, said this is one of the first Tesla projects in Iowa. He said he's glad his company is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in renewable energy.

Van Beek likened solar panels to cups that collect 'gold coins” from the sky. He said he never tires of driving by Agri and seeing the 'blue ocean” of solar panels on its roof.

Schaefer-Weaton said that young people want to work for a company that cares about sustainability, and that by being a leader in that field, Agri's solar array is like a giant billboard advertisement. She mentioned that her company's customers, firms like Yamaha and John Deere, are forward thinking, too, and appreciate Agri's strides toward being environmentally conscious.

Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, remarked on how fortunate Agri was to have Schaefer-Weaton at the helm.

'Lori, you are an inspiration,” Durham said. 'It's great to see a strong woman leading a company.”

Durham spoke about how Iowa Economic Development Authority is proud to play a role in helping companies grow and prioritize sustainability. She thanked Joshua Laraby, executive director of Fairfield Economic Development Authority, for hatching the idea of studying both the solar array and battery installation at Agri-Industrial Plastics, and the solar array and battery installed last year at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield.

FEDA received a $200,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to evaluate the performance of the two arrays and their storage facilities.

Known as the Fairfield Energy Storage System Demonstration, the study will compare the different approaches used in each project and evaluate the return on investment, operation and maintenance considerations, battery performance and effectiveness of solar tracking.

Additionally, the study will analyze job creation opportunities related to the growing storage market over the course of 18 months. Iowa State University's Electric Power Research Center is also partnering on the project. Two members of that research team from Ames attended Thursday's inauguration ceremony - its director Anne Kimber, and Jinqiang Liu, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering at ISU. Jinqiang said the study will examine the most efficient way for each business to use their battery.

Kimber chimed in, 'We'll use this opportunity to advance our understanding of how to reduce peak usage, to produce benefits for both the customers and the energy utility.”

Laraby said that the study will be made public once it's finished.

Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy thanked Gov. Reynolds and Durham for traveling to Fairfield for the event, and he thanked Schaefer-Weaton and Troy and Amy Van Beek (co-founders of Ideal Energy) for making Fairfield proud. He said Fairfield can now boast of 4 megawatts of privately generated solar power.

Aurelien Windenberger, who works in Ideal Energy's finance and design department, said the battery can hold up to 430 kilowatt-hours, and can discharge as much as 210 kilowatt-hours. That means the battery will be able to deliver two hours of energy at full capacity.

He remarked that the battery is charged by the sun (assuming it's not full), and could be charged from the electric grid. However, it is set to be charged only from the sun, a requirement for receiving tax credits. The tax credit from the federal government allows for a deduction of 30 percent off the cost of installing a solar energy system from federal taxes. The project has also received a state tax credit in the amount of $20,000, which is the maximum allowed.