Minnesota Farmer warms up to solar energy

EAGLE LAKE — For decades, Daryl Guentzel has used the sun to produce his harvest. Soon he’ll be harvesting the sun itself.

“I don’t have a lot of great intelligence,” the Eagle Lake farmer says, “but I can add.”

And by his arithmetic, converting his operation to be exclusively powered by Old Sol is a no-brainer.

He says at first he wasn’t interested in the concept, but the more he spoke with those knowledgeable about it, the more he came around.

“What they said sure seemed to make sense.”

Not to mention cents. Lots of them.

The 84-panel solar collection system being installed at his farm has a retail cost of $132,000. But if his combo platter of energy grants is fully realized, the cost will be…

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