Minnesota is the nation’s number one turkey producer. A CERTs Seed Grant helped research ways to further reduce energy costs in turkey barns and strengthen these core Minnesota businesses.
Turkey production facilities have high ventilation make-up air loads and therefore high heating loads. Turkey production operations are often far from the natural gas grid and dependent on expensive delivered fuels. With that in mind, the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) set out to prove that transpired air is a low-cost, effective solar technology designed for ventilation make-up air loads and offers the massive Minnesota turkey industry an opportunity to dramatically reduce and stabilize energy costs.
“The goal of the project was to design, construct, and commission a transpired air system at a turkey production facility to create awareness for the use of this appropriate technology and demonstrate the role it can play in stabilizing energy costs in the Minnesota agricultural landscape,” says Jason Edens, Director of RREAL.
The team at RREAL worked with Eddy Max Velo of Velo Farms, near Rothsay, Minnesota. The installation was not without its challenges. “The primary challenge in working with a turkey producer is the fact that the production cycle is somewhat complex, and we had to time our installation in such a way that it didn’t conflict with the producer’s bird health and well being,” explains Edens. “We could only service and be in the barn when the birds weren’t. Therefore, we had to juggle an installation schedule around the birds. Although we were naturally happy to accommodate, it presented some logistical challenges at a time of year when the weather was already doing the same.”
The data from the install is still being monitored, but so far is encouraging. Here’s hoping that the work of Velo Farms and RREAL will help Minnesota turkey farmers keep a few more energy dollars in their pockets!
Learn more about the project by downloading their final report or by clicking here to see RREAL’s presentation about it at a CERTs December 3rd, 2014 tour.
Check out photos from the event
- Technology: Installation of 834 sqft of SolarWall Solar Air Heating system (SW-150, 26ga.black) on a rural turkey barn for ventilation make-up heating
- Annual Energy Production: 67,100,000 BTUs of thermal energy (replacing propane)
- Total Project Cost: $40,000
- Central CERT Seed Grant: $5,000
- Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships Grant: $30,000
- Agstar Grant: $2,500
- RREAL in-kind: $2,500
Want to learn how your community can get a CERTs Seed Grant to advance your work? Applications for the next round of grants are available and due October 26th. To get started, visit the Seed Grant page and see other awarded projects from past years.
