Palmdale Farm Goes Solar

This item was posted as a Daily Update on the San Fernando Valley Business Journal website on October 31, 2008.

Bolthouse Farms Inc. in Palmdale completed a clean energy project that uses a 1.9 megawatt solar power system to provide 80 percent of the farm's electricity.

The more than 10,000 solar panels were designed and installed by Regenesis Power in Simi Valley. The ground-mounted solar arrays use a tilted single-axis tracking system that follows the sun during the day for greater efficiency.

Bolthouse Farms has a long history of responsibly using natural resources to ensure sustainability, said President Jeffrey Dunn. “We’re excited to be able harness the sun to power our farming operations,” Dunn said.

MMA Renewable Ventures owns and operates the solar system and sells the power generated by the solar arrays to Bolthouse through a purchase agreement.

Don't Just Recycle - FREEcycle

So you just opened a brand new shiny 17" computer monitor and can't figure out what to do with your old, but still working, CRT monitor. What are your options?

Well, you could throw it in the trash. BAD IDEA. In addition to the non-biodegradable plastics and glass, there are toxic chemicals in there.

You could wait for an electronic waste recycling event to come around. BETTER IDEA. Usually the electronics at these events are cannibalized for reusable parts and the non-usable stuff is recycled or disposed of properly.

Or you could Freecycle it. Freecycle groups, such as the Northridge Freecycle Group on Yahoo groups, allow people to post items they want to get rid of and others to request the items. All transactions occur with NO FEES. This is not a way to make money or find free stuff you can then re-sell (although some people do that). The idea is to get stuff from the person who doesn't want it or need it to the person who does. Groups tend to operate locally so find one in your area.

Craig's List is another option. Each Craig's List site has a FREE section (under the For Sale label) where people can post something they want, or something they are giving away.

Do you have a freecycling experience? Tell us about it.