When the Kickapoo Country Fair is held later this month, Organic Valley will have some new ecologically-friendly technology on display.

Organic Valley, in partnership with Midwest Renewable Energy Associa-tion (MREA), will install three solar panel trackers at the cooperative’s headquarters in La Farge. The installation of the trackers is to begin on Monday, July 13.

The project will produce an estimated 14,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of renewable electricity annually.

“The amount of electricity produced annually is small for our big building, but this is just the first step in a series of projects we have planned,” Jennifer Harrison, Organic Valley’s sustainability program manager, said.

The project consists of installing three, 16-solar panel, 10-foot-tall masts in some open ground between the driveway leading to Organic Valley’s headquarters and the parking lot for the building, Harrison said. The tracking mechanisms will allow the panels to tilt vertically and horizontally to stay at maximum efficiency, Harrison said.

The panels were purchased with a Focus on Energy program rebate, Organic Valley has applied for a grant from the USDA to help purchase them and the cooperative will also receive a tax credit for installing them. In the end, the project will cost between $25,000-$30,000, Harrison said.

“The one thing to point out are all the great resources available to anyone interested in doing something similar,” Harrison said. “Focus on Energy is a great place to start.”

Employees and visitors to Organic Valley’s headquarters will be able to see, in real time, the amount of power generated by the trackers via a monitor installed at the entrance.

Coordinated by Chris La Forge, owner of Great Northern Solar and an MREA instructor, the project installation is part of the MREA advance solar installation curriculum. Students pay to attend the weeklong class, which is a mixture of classroom instruction and hands on installation. Following training, and with the guidance of La Forge, the students and select Organic Valley employees will install the project.

The solar trackers and monitor will be on display for public viewing at the Kickapoo Country Fair, July 25-26. Fair attendees can sign up for a tour of Organic Valley’s headquarters and learn more about solar energy.

Solar panel trackers can be configured in a number of different ways. Generally they move to allow the panels to capture more energy from the sun on any given day.

Some new trackers can increase the output of any solar panel by 15-20 percent.

In a press release, Organic Valley said it is installing the trackers in keeping with its part of its mission regarding ecological integrity manifested through renewable energy projects.