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Mature forests, carbon & climate: Learning with the land
Come visit with old-growth forest expert Bob Leverett at his own forest in Florence to learn about the role our local forests play in the carbon cycle and in mitigating climate change. Bob shares his scientific method for calculating the volume of a tree and its carbon content, as well as a fascinating look at several species of mature trees on his property, including the beautiful Tuliptree…
What makes for compatible solar?
American Farmland Trust’s New England Climate and Agriculture Program Manager and soil scientist Emily Cole, and Blue Wave’s Development/Senior Director Drew Pierson, team up to talk about what is needed to make solar projects compatible with—and benefit from—farmland viability.
If you are interested in how to slow down climate change and help agriculture, this webinar could be helpful. This is the second in a three-part series. While the webinar is focused on New England, the concepts of design, strategy, and partnerships are applicable to other parts of the country.
How solar farms can be regenerative for soil and sequester more carbon
What if renewable energy was not just sustainable but was also regenerative? This is the goal of a partnership between White Oak Pastures and Silicon Ranch Corporation, an independent solar power producer under the umbrella of Shell.
In 2020 alone, this partnership will bring holistic planned livestock grazing and regenerative land management practices to nearly 2,400 solar farm acres in Southwest Georgia to create carbon sinks, restore biodiversity and soil health, and add to the environmental, social, and economic benefits of these clean energy projects…
Pollinator-friendly solar energy becomes the norm in Minnesota
The environmental benefits of Connexus Energy’s solar-plus-storage project are obvious enough, but this time of year, you’ll notice something more: prairie grasses and flowers planted under and around the sea of solar panels.
Pollinator-friendly plantings at large solar energy sites have become common in Minnesota in recent years. Not only do they provide habitat for the bee and butterfly populations people have been concerned about, but they also promote soil health and probably even boost the solar panels’ electricity output on warm days…
A Practitioner’s Guide to Pollinator-Friendly Solar Development
This toolkit provides background on pollinator-friendly solar and its advantages, and tips, resources, and important considerations to kick-start the integration of pollinator habitat into a solar development portfolio.
In addition to the diverse environmental benefits that pollinator-friendly solar projects can produce, there are an array of private benefits for solar developers to reap from planting perennial vegetation under their solar panels.
The guide offers a set of best practices for understanding local context, building support for a project, designing a site, financing, and development…
As big endowments spurn fossil fuel stocks, there’s one thing making this decision easy
As big endowment funds face mounting pressure to reduce their exposure to the fossil fuel industry, there’s one thing making their decision easier: the energy sector’s underperformance…
Your land trust has a chance to be strategic and proactive
Calls for decarbonization are now coming from the boardrooms and executive suites of the world’s largest corporations and investment funds, in a fast-moving change that could reshape the global energy system and economy. Listen to why investment firms and companies are divesting.
I’ll be posting more about alternatives, but in the meantime, check out PIMCO’s climate investment funds.
Cash-strapped farms are growing a new crop: solar panels
Construction is slated to begin this spring on a 1.2-megawatt solar array on the Kominek farm (in Colorado). Some 3,300 solar panels will rest on 6-foot and 8-foot-high stilts, providing shade for crops like tomatoes, peppers, kale, and beans on a five-acre plot. Pasture grasses and beehive boxes are planned for the perimeter…
The vegetables will be sold through a community farm-share program, which allows neighbors to invest in the project in exchange for boxes of produce.
Byron Kominek said he hopes similar projects will soon follow. In 2018, Boulder County officials updated the local land-use codes to allow for community solar on land otherwise designated for agriculture, and Kominek plans to help train other farmers how to grow crops alongside solar panels. “The hope is that young farmers will have a better understanding of how to do this, and will go out to already built solar arrays, or planned solar arrays, and find a new profession,” he said.
Office upgrades: Going solar
Historic 1 Main Street, built in 1835, has received its most recent modernization this fall with the addition of solar panels to provide clean electricity.
Building owners Meg and Billy Lloyd partnered with Genesee Valley Conservancy to install the photovoltaic system that will offset 100% of the land trust’s electric use. They acknowledge that “while the land trust works to protect habitat, open space, and farmland in the Genesee Valley, a large supply of power is needed to run the operations of this work: computers, printers, lights, modems, etc.”
The up-front costs were shared by the building owners and the Conservancy, as both will benefit from the project. The Conservancy will see an immediate reduction in monthly utility bills and after six years will break even on the initial investment and begin seeing a net-savings.
Tucson Electric Power Series
Tucson Electric Power (TEP) provides safe, reliable and increasingly sustainable electric service to approximately 425,000 customers in Southern Arizona. The company is on track to surpass its own ambitious renewable energy goals by expanding use of wind and solar power. TEP is a local leader in community service, volunteerism and economic development efforts, with energy efficiency programs that help customers to better manage their energy costs. It is with great pride that we spotlight TEP programs and services.