Elevated panels track the sun throughout the day to generate power
By Jim Flint for Ashland.news
Ashland’s TC Chevy has shifted into high gear on sustainability, becoming a shining example of clean energy innovation with the addition of three new Stracker solar arrays to its existing five units.
The dealership now is in a position to run entirely on sun power, achieving net-zero status and proving that the road to a greener future starts at home.
The original five elevated arrays, manufactured by Ashland-based Stracker Solar, were installed in late summer of 2022. When dealership owner-operator Derek DeBoer decided to go solar, he chose Stracker for its cutting-edge technology.
“Our cars and trucks feature the latest designs and manufacturing practices, and we wanted a solar power system that does the same,” he said at the time.
Though installation costs are very site- and project-specific, a solar six-pack can run from $240,000 to $390,000, said Jeff Sharpe, Stracker’s founder and CEO.
“I guess it was more than a ‘dipping a toe in the water,’” DeBoer said this week about taking the leap two years ago. “But we were intrigued with the product and, for me, there is no better way to understand something than to experience it firsthand.”
Each Stracker array has multiple solar panels atop a 20-foot pole. The dual-axis arrays follow the sun throughout the day. That lets them generate up to 70% more solar energy than same-sized fixed systems.
The payback
It doesn’t take long to recover the initial cost of the investment.
“Simple paybacks after only federal tax credits and incentives are running five to seven years in Oregon’s low-cost utility districts,” Sharpe said. “Utility, REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) or ODOE (Oregon Department of Energy) incentives can reduce those time frames significantly.”
He said the company is seeing simple paybacks of fewer than two years in California locations where electricity prices are much higher.
Better than expected
DeBoer said the Strackers’ performance has been above expectation. “The original installation has been providing about 60% of our power needs.”
DeBoer had high praise for Sharpe.
“Jeff is a great man,” he said. “His vision and this product are very impressive. It’s a bonus that he is local. We always love to do all we can to support local business, and we ask others to do the same.”
The three new solar arrays are larger than the first five installed at TC Chevy. The combination of eight arrays will provide 100% of the dealership’s power needs.
“I imagine we ultimately will look at other properties that could benefit from adding units,” DeBoer said.
The rise in the number of EV vehicles and the increasing demand on the electric grid will require more electric power and new efficiencies.
“We are trying to do our part,” he said.
Elevating the solar business
Stracker Solar has been in business for eight years. It has installed 70 elevated arrays to date, mostly in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
“But we currently are developing and contracting projects elsewhere in California as well as in Kentucky, Minnesota, Switzerland and beyond,” Sharpe said.
Keeping pace with technology
Stracker has 10 full- and part-time team members and another 10 to 15 subcontract partners. Its recent installations include six arrays for Work Sharp Tools in Ashland, six at Our Table Cooperative Farm in Sherwood, Oregon, six for the city of Ashland and eight for EPF Solar in Minneapolis.
Sharpe’s involvement in solar came early in his career. He started in the solar field with his dad in 1976, designing, building and installing “breadbox” water heaters that used solar energy to heat batches of water prior to their flowing into a traditional water heater.
He went on to become a professional engineer and licensed contractor. After doing business in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and Corvallis, Montana, he moved 18 years ago to Ashland, where he opened the engineering firm, Sharpe Energy Solutions Inc.
‘A light came on’
The idea for an elevated solar system came to Sharpe while working on a five-tracker installation for an elementary school in California.
“A light came on,” Sharpe said. “I saw the value of raising the mechanical and electrical systems well out of reach to avoid fencing and maintain the school ground below.”
DeBoer came to know about Sharpe and Stracker Solar from his father, Alan DeBoer.
“My dad met Jeff and was impressed with his drive and inventiveness,” DeBoer said.
Saving money was not TC Chevy’s prime motivation for moving ahead with the project.
Two years ago, when Derek DeBoer gave the project the green light, sustainability was his main consideration.
“It’s a responsible way to offset power usage,” he said at the time, “and at some point, I’m certain it will also pay off financially.”
There’s little doubt in his mind now that his belief was justified.
Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at [email protected].
