Tag Archives: IPS History

30 Years Of Solar Ep. 5: Eichten’s Hidden Acres

A shot of the ground mounted solar array installed by IPS at Eichten’s Hidden Acres.  

Growing Trust with Landowners

Eichten’s Hidden Acres is an award winning cheese and buffalo ranch in Center City, Minnesota bordering Taylors Falls on the St. Croix River. The ranch has been family owned and operated since 1976, and is committed to energy efficiency and healthy farming. In 2011, Ed Eichten, the owner of Eichten’s Hidden Acres met with Eric Pasi, the Chief Development Officer of IPS. Ed wanted to learn more about investing in solar not only with the ranch in mind, but for the benefit of future generations. 

“I’ve always been very conscious of burning fossil fuels. I’m from a large family and have a lot of nieces and nephews, so it’s for that, and it’s just for humanity. It doesn’t make sense to keep polluting the atmosphere.”  – Ed Eichten

At the time of Ed and Eric’s conversation, IPS didn’t have a large presence in rural Minnesota and large ground-mounted projects weren’t common. Thankfully, Ed’s enthusiasm for solar led to a 40 kW project that would be completed the following year, and to the start of a long and prosperous relationship with IPS.

A few years later, Minnesota’s Community Solar Program was in its infancy and IPS was searching for landowners that were interested in leasing their land for a solar garden. These gardens would allow people in the local community without ideal roof conditions or finances to benefit from solar. Since the program was brand new and there wasn’t a history of successful projects to refer to, many landowners were skeptical.   

Ed felt as though his original system had already paid for itself, and once again thought it would be a good idea; not just for his own benefit, but for his community and the environment! Ed leased a portion of his land for the solar garden to IPS and construction began. Soon after, the 5 MW project was completed, giving a home to more than 15,000 solar panels to power the ranch and its surrounding community.

Ed Eichten touring the newly commissioned IPS community solar garden shorty after construction.   

“This was the first project we did in the area so they had a lot of questions to answer and we always got the answers we needed.” – Ed Eichten

Ed’s trust in IPS and the success of his project were instrumental in establishing IPS as a trustworthy company for landowners across the state. His early commitment and subsequent solar advocacy provided solar energy access to his community and opened the doors for over 50 (and counting) solar gardens.

2021 marks a major milestone for IPS, and we’d be thrilled to have you join us in celebrating 30 years of solar. Learn more about the event RSVP here!

30 Years Of Solar Ep. 4: Thank you, Mr. Cartwright!

Michael, students, and the IPS team at the Mounds View High School ribbon cutting.  

Solar for Schools

Michael Cartwright, or Mr. Cartwright as his students know him, has been teaching physics at Mounds View High School for over 25 years. In the summer of 2014, he took a course for teachers at the University of Minnesota that focused on renewable energy and bioproducts. Michael chose to center his research during the course around the environmental and economic opportunities that solar power can provide. 

That research led to a meeting with IPS Chief Development Officer Eric Pasi to discuss options for installing solar panels on Michael’s home. During their conversation, they bonded over their mutual appreciation of Hawaii and talked about some recent rooftop projects IPS had completed with the Chisago Lakes School District. After learning about the opportunities for schools through state legislation and Xcel Energy incentive programs, it seemed to Michael that solar was a great opportunity for Mounds View, economically and educationally.

Michael met with the district’s Assistant Superintendent to discuss solar’s feasibility. It was then brought to the Superintendent and eventually the School Board. After much consideration and research, Mounds View Schools applied for three school projects in a fairly competitive field of requests. This was through the Made in Minnesota program, which used a lottery system to provide incentives to over 1,400 projects in 50 counties to stimulate the growing solar industry. Eventually, after three years of the program, 13 of the school buildings had 40 kW solar arrays operating.

Michael’s fascination with solar didn’t end there. He wanted to utilize the rooftop panels to help teach his students about renewable energy. He lent his expertise to IPS and helped us create the Sunrise Program, even taking a sabbatical from teaching in order to give the program his full attention.  

The Sunrise Program offers complete STEM programs designed to spark students’ curiosity and give them the tools they will ultimately need for success, offering schools three approaches. classroom presentations, fully developed STEM curricula and professional development – that can be mixed and matched to best serve each district. The program runs annual workshops for Minnesota educators, several of which Michael has led himself.  

IPS and the Sunrise Program wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for Michael’s enthusiasm and drive to educate future generations about the importance of solar energy. We’re grateful for his exceptional work, and are inspired by the impact he makes on students, schools, the community, and environment every day. Thank you!

2021 marks a major milestone for IPS, and we’d be thrilled to have you join us in celebrating 30 years of solar. Learn more about the event RSVP here!

30 Years Of Solar Ep. 3: Make a Mudslide Shine

A rare IPS photo of a wind turbine.  

Make a Mudslide Shine

Impact Power Solutions is Minnesota’s leading commercial solar developer, but we haven’t always only installed solar. In the mid 2000’s, we installed several wind turbine projects across Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. Renewable wind technology was becoming more affordable and there was interest from many landowners, so it seemed like a natural fit for us.

Unfortunately, product defects caused almost all of the turbines we installed to produce much less energy than originally anticipated. Suddenly, our clients were stuck with large, poorly producing wind turbines that had become eye-sores. After it became clear that no amount of maintenance or repair would get these turbines working properly, we decided to disassemble every single one and replace them with PV solar arrays of a similar size. The new solar arrays were installed at no cost to the clients, and would meet or exceed the original estimated production of the turbines.

Chuck Allen was one of these clients. His wind turbine was installed in 2009 and it was immediately clear that it was not going to meet the original production estimates. We replaced the turbine with a 23 kW solar array, which has exceeded the original production estimates of the turbine. IPS has since narrowed its focus strictly to rooftop and community solar, but we continue to draw on our experience from these projects and the lessons we learned from them. We’re extremely grateful for the patient clients that allowed us to make this right, and we continue to try and make every mudslide shine!

2021 marks a major milestone for IPS, and we’d be thrilled to have you join us in celebrating 30 years of solar. Learn more about the event RSVP here!