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Robyn Metzger

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Characterizing the Ecological Implications of Utility-Scale Solar Energy on Fallowed Farmlands

Written By: Amanda Gersoff (M.Sc. student), Dr. Seeta Sistla Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Our team is studying the ecological aspects of utility-scale solar arrays set…

Ecosystem Services of Solar-Pollinator Habitat

By Lee Walston and Heidi Hartmann, Argonne National Laboratory Pollinator habitat at a solar facility in Minnesota. Photo: Lee Walston, Argonne National Laboratory. Many of us have witnessed regional land-use transformations…

Video Series Provides Solar Education to Farmers

It should come as no surprise that farmers are busy people. Success in farming requires hard work and long days, not to mention staying up to speed on farming practices and technologies. As renewable energy deployment on farmland becomes more…

Case Study: A Pollinator-Friendly Solar Site in Minnesota that Manages Stormwater.

As we continue to deploy clean energy across the United States, more attention is being paid to how best to develop clean energy projects at the pace and scale that the climate crisis requires, while also ensuring that we are taking care of the sites and communities that host those projects.

Fostering Social Acceptance of Solar Through Agrivoltaic Solutions

By Alexis Pascaris What if we shifted our perspective to view Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome as an occasion for innovation? What if we strategically integrated local community interests into a solar project, rather than grappling to…

American Solar Grazing Association, AgriSolar Clearinghouse Partner on Webinar Teatime Series

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is partnering with the American Solar Grazing Association to run a series of joint educational agrivoltaic webinar presentations, known as Teatimes. These events are free and open to the public, and recordings…
Biosphere Agrivoltaic ResearchCredit: Steven Meckler Photography

Follow the Sun Tour: Learning from Arizona’s Biosphere 2 and Manzo Elementary Agrivoltaics  

By Dr. Stacie Peterson The interdisciplinary research at Biosphere 2 and Manzo Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona is foundational for agrivoltaics in the United States.  My first introduction to agrivoltaics came from research at these…

Sweet Deal: Beekeeping at Solar Sites Offers Economic and Environmental Benefits

By Lindsay Mouw, Center for Rural Affairs What’s the latest buzz about solar energy? It’s likely the thousands of honey bees that call solar fields home. Commonly referred to as “agrisolar beekeeping,” the practice of placing…
Courtesy Monarch Joint VentureCourtesy Monarch Joint Venture

Renewable Energy Meets Pollinator Habitat in Minnesota Solar Fields

Guest blog post by Monarch Joint Venture Up to 99% of native northern tallgrass prairie in the U.S. has disappeared since European settlement (Samson and Knopf, 1994). This loss of habitat is devastating for pollinators including the iconic…

Case Study: Vermont Farmers Access Clean Energy

Farmer-members of Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative representing nearly 1,800 family farms, can now access renewable energy options for their operations. In Vermont, solar development company SunCommon has created a program to help…

Solar PV and the Importance of Asking for High-Performance Ground Cover

By Rob Davis, Connexus Energy Seven years after designing our first solar array, more than 20 million deep-rooted and pollinator-friendly plants across more than 150 acres are helping us control costs while maximizing local benefits for…

Resources for Land Access

By Victorian Smart, NCAT Energy Program Assistant If you dream of owning land someday, you’ve probably also experienced apprehension about the process of finding and buying the land. This is the reality of land acquisition – it is financially…

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