O’Donohue Family Educational Farm Now Powered by 100% Carbon-Free Electricity

The O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is now a first-of-its-kind demonstration of energy independence. With the installation of the GS Energy Microgrid, including solar panels, EV chargers, and battery storage, the farm has transitioned off the utility grid and toward 100% carbon-free electricity generated onsite. This milestone showcases how clean energy can power small-scale agriculture. 

The farm’s transformation is the result of three years of planning, including energy audits, seeking bids, securing financing, and navigating permitting and administrative processes. Sergio Sanchez Lopez, a Sustainable Stanford Living Lab fellow and  PhD student in the E-IPER program in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, has been driving this project since the inaugural Sustainable Stanford Living Lab Fellowship in 2023. Working closely with mentor Patrick Archie and campus partners, Sergio helped shepherd the project from feasibility studies to real, on-the-ground (and on-the-barn) impact. 

“Through the Sustainable Stanford Living Lab program, I was exposed to experiences few PhD students have and gained skills besides research that I will carry to my professional career, all of this while having a tangible and positive impact beyond the Stanford community” -Sergio Sanchez Lopez

The farm’s electrification shows how students can leave a lasting legacy for operational sustainability, applying academic research to hands-on projects. This project also exemplifies how the Sustainable Stanford Living Lab Program empowers students to tackle complex, high-impact challenges that can model solutions beyond campus as the farm evolved into a self-powered ecosystem.