The Official U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac 2016 2016 | Page 15

TODD FORD WALKS along a bank of newly installed solar panels, funded in part by the state of Vermont, at his Mad Mountain
Maple sugarhouse in Poultney, Vt.

Going Solar

More maple syrup producers turning to sun to power their operations

A

By DEBORAH JEANNE SERGEANT
for the Maple News

ccording to the Governor’s office, solar use in New York
grew 300 percent from 2011 to 2014. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision program plans to spend
$1 billion on solar, which can help ag operators better afford to
install solar panels.
Additional solar growth in New York
State could come from another element in the REV program, a proposed
$5 billion Clean Energy Fund, which
would put investments into play over
the next ten years across four portfoU.S. Maple Syrup Almanac

2016

lios: Market Development, Innovation
and Research, NY Green Bank and
NY-Sun.
Though this statistic includes numerous agricultural operations, many of
those are dairies. Few of them are

maple sugar producers.
Karl Wiles, owner of Cedarvale
Maple Syrup Co. in Syracuse, NY represents a solar pioneer in the state’s
maple industry. He’s used solar for two
years to power his sugar house, home,
retail store and employee apartment
above the store. He said that the system generates all the power his operation and home need for nothing. He
pays a small fee to stay on the national
grid. But only $22.70 monthly for all
his home and business power needs
is pittance compared with the former bills of $250 for his home, $208
monthly for the apartment and store
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