11/02/2023

The Ultra-efficient Farm of the Future Is in the Sky

Growing crops under solar panels can produce both food and clean energy

Five stories off the ground at Colorado State University, a highly unlikely garden grows under a long row of rooftop solar panels. It’s late October at 9 a.m. when the temperature is 30 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is cutting.

Not long before my arrival, researchers had pulled the last frost-intolerant crops out of the substrate underneath the panels, a total of 600 pounds for the season. In their place, cool-season foods like leafy greens—arugula, lettuce, kale, swiss chard—still grow, shaded from the intense sunlight up here.

This is no ordinary green roof, but a sprawling, sensor-laden outdoor laboratory overseen by horticulturalist Jennifer Bousselot. The idea behind rooftop agrivoltaics is to emulate a forest on top of a building. Just as the shade of towering trees protects the undergrowth from sun-stress, so too can solar panels encourage the growth of plants—the overall goal being to grow more food for ballooning urban populations, all while saving water, generating clean energy and making buildings more energy efficient.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.