Local demo day at Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont shows how farms can grow food and solar energy side-by-side
LONGMONT, Colo. — Local farmers, researchers, and land managers gathered on June 10 at Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont to explore how agriculture and solar energy production can successfully share the same space — a practice known as agrivoltaics. The event, titled Solar Grazing and Growing: Agrivoltaics Demo Day, was hosted by Larimer County CSU Extension and AgriSolar Consulting and drew more than 40 participants from across Northern Colorado and beyond.
Agrivoltaics — the dual use of land for both farming and solar energy — is gaining momentum across the West as communities seek more efficient ways to use land while meeting growing food and energy demands. Demo Day attendees witnessed firsthand how solar panels can be elevated or spaced to allow crops to flourish or livestock to graze beneath and between them…