 |
| Photo: Kirk Siegler |
With so much gloomy news about climate change and the continuing drought conditions in Colorado, I saw a story on NPR that had positive news about solar power and agriculture that I wanted to share.
A small farm owner in Boulder has switched from growing
alfalfa on part of his property to installing solar panels on the acreage,
growing crops under the panels, and using as much as 50% less water for those
crops. Peppers, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, lettuces, beets, turnips, carrots,
chard and kale have thrived and been harvested. His solar panels have generated
enough power for 300 homes this year and he hopes to grow enough food beneath
the panels to feed as many families.
It’s called agrivoltaics, first pioneered in Europe and
Asia. With so many family farms barely hanging on in a world of corporate
consolidation and so many older farmers nearing retirement, this could prove
successful here in the U.S. Here’s the full story from Kirk Siegler, national correspondent for western states for NPR:
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/14/1054942590/solar-energy-colorado-garden-farm-land