A farm owner in Colorado rejuvenated his family farm’s fortunes by adding an unlikely offering, clean energy, to its output of fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Marketplace profiled Byron Kominek, the owner of Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont. Kominek’s grandfather bought the land in 1972, growing hay and wheat.
In 2018, Kominek took over the farm and was eager to find a way to turn around the prospects of the money-losing property. The concept of combining solar panels with farming, known as agrivoltaics, became the key. First, Kominek had to win over a tough cynic, his mom…