Stanford University Educational Farm to Eliminate Fossil Fuel Use with Green Microgrid

The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm at Stanford University is going green thanks to a 100% renewable energy microgrid.

GS Energy, a South Korean integrated energy company that has been collaborating with Stanford’s Center for Innovation and Design Research for a number of years, is donating the system.

The microgrid will include 56 QCells solar panels, three Franklin batteries and two electric vehicle chargers. GS Energy also donated $30,000 to help the farm purchase an electric tractor.

For a decade, the educational farm has served as a sustainable agriculture living laboratory, hosting researchers and providing students with hands-on learning opportunities.

Located on the west side of campus, the 6-acre farm grows more than 200 varieties of vegetables, flowers, herbs, field crops and fruit. The farm is part of the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford, offering hands-on learning opportunities in engineering and agroecology (an academic discipline focused on ecological processes in agricultural production).

Living the dream

Patrick Archie, director of the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, has long dreamed of running the farm entirely with electricity.  It was his goal when he was hired to lead the farm’s development 14 years ago, he told Microgrid Knowledge in an email.

“At that time, there were no electric tractors on the market and in the intervening years our infrastructure budget did not allow for adding solar panels or batteries,” he said.

Two and a half years ago, Stanford’s Office of Sustainability launched a living laboratory fellowship program, giving undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to develop and test sustainability ideas that would enable the university to achieve its sustainability targets.

“I pitched the idea of a microgrid for the farm and was awarded a fellow to work with me on the project,” Archie explained. He and that fellow, PhD student Sergio Sanchez, have been working on the project ever since.

They hope to have the microgrid up and running this winter.

“We are currently waiting on a building permit approval from Santa Clara County,” Archie said. “Once the permit is approved, which could take several months, installation will take about three weeks.”

Farming with the sun

MYNT Systems, a California-based energy developer, designed and will install the microgrid on behalf of GS Energy. Solar panels will be mounted on the barn’s roof and the batteries installed along its north wall. MYNT will also operate and maintain the microgrid.

The system will produce enough electricity to fully power the farm’s operations, including charging a new electric tractor.

Archie said the farm would decommission its diesel tractor to qualify for the California Air Resources Board's Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emissions Reductions (FARMER) Program.

While the farm has not selected the brand or model yet, the price of a new industrial electric farm tractor can be upwards of $40,000. Archie expects the FARMER Program funding will make up the difference between the final price and the funds provided by GS Energy.

With the microgrid and the electric tractor in place, the farm can eliminate the use of all fossil fuels.

A long history of sustainability

Stanford has long been a leader in campus sustainability. The university released its first Climate Action Plan in 2008, updating it in 2015. In 2018, the Board of Trustees committed to achieving “at least net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

The campus has been running on 100% renewable energy since 2022, when its 63 MW Solar Generating Station #2 came online.

A new edition of the Climate Action Plan is expected to be published next year.

Living labs demonstrate the power of microgrids

From non-profits to universities and corporations, living labs are popping up around the globe to demonstrate the benefits of microgrids.

Earlier this year, the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) in Sonoma County, celebrated the launch of its agricultural microgrid. The 80-acre organic farm and demonstration site is now fully powered by a solar and storage microgrid. OAEC expects the microgrid will save it an estimated $2 million in energy costs over the next 25 years.

The University of Regina in Saskatchewan launched a microgrid living lab in May. The on-campus facility, which features real energy infrastructure and resources, will enable researchers and businesses to study and analyze microgrid design and engineering issues prior to real-world installations.

Siemens has also constructed a living lab at its New Jersey campus to showcase microgrid technologies and applications.