West Grove’s Marlboro Mushrooms, the nation’s oldest mushroom farm, has added another first to its name by becoming the only solar-powered commercial mushroom farm in America, writes Katie Park for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The farm’s owners, brothers Tom and Harold Brosius, invested $5 million to install seven acres of solar panels eight years ago.

“This is a way to separate ourselves,” said Tom.

The change did wonders for the farm’s monthly electricity bills, which dropped from $25,000 to $5,000, but it also came with challenges.

When the brothers installed solar panels, they counted on renewable energy credits to help repay the two loans they had taken out. However, solar renewable energy credits then crashed due to cheaper energy sources in other states, which caused each credit to drop from its $300 peak to single digits, putting significant strain on the farm.

Luckily, Gov. Tom Wolf closed Pennsylvania to solar power suppliers from other states two years ago, and credit prices began to slowly climb.

Despite the challenges, the brothers do not regret their decision.

“If we can make our own power and not be using fossil fuels, it’s the right thing to do,” said Tom.

Read more about Marlboro Mushrooms in the Philadelphia inquirer here.

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