A decade-long vision to secure the future of Colorado's wine industry just took a monumental leap. At CSU's Orchard Mesa Research Station, three rows of towering solar panels now stand guard over a chardonnay vineyard, pioneering the study of how agrivoltaics can protect grapes from frost and hail while also generating power.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) has awarded $300,000 in funding to five projects that demonstrate the technology and benefits of combining solar power generation with agriculture through the third round of the agency’s Agrivoltaics Research and Development grant.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant Program is open for applications. Now in its third year, this program provides funding for projects that research and demonstrate the use of solar energy production on agricultural land.
For the second year in a row, the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) awarded $500,000 through the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration grant, funding six projects that demonstrate the technology and benefits of agrivoltaics in Colorado.
By growing food and developing energy on the same parcel of land, agrivoltaics is an important component of both the state’s renewable energy goals and fostering a resilient agricultural system in Colorado.
To help promote multi-faceted uses of agricultural land, the Colorado Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant Program. Open for the second year in a row, the program funds projects that demonstrate and research the use of solar generation on agricultural land.
The Agricultural Drought and Climate Resilience Office (ADCRO) will hold an informational webinar about how to apply for the next round of Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant funding.
The Agricultural Drought and Climate Resilience Office (ADCRO) will hold an informational webinar about how to apply for the next round of Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant funding.
On Dec. 19 at CSU-Spur, Governor Polis and Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) Commissioner Kate Greenberg awarded $500,000 in grants to seven projects that demonstrate the use and benefits of agrivoltaics, the simultaneous use of land for solar energy production and agriculture. These grants distributed by the Polis administration will provide funding to incorporate innovative technology that supports Colorado’s producers to operate in the face of challenges created by climate change and prepare the next generation.
To help demonstrate one of the many ways agriculture can contribute to addressing the effects of climate change, Colorado is investing $500,000 in projects that help advance the use of agrivoltaics in the state.
Agrivoltaics is the practice of co-locating solar energy installations and agriculture, with crops or grazing land beneath or between rows of photovoltaic panels. Now, farmers, ranchers, and other landowners with innovative ideas on how to use agrivoltaics in Colorado will have a chance to apply for funding for their projects.