Following the Sun to 乐虎直播
September 17, 2024
By Savannah Crichton
An aerial view of Renewable IPP's 8.5 MW solar farm in Houston, 乐虎直播.
The Follow the Sun tour 乐虎直播, organized by the and the , took place in August at the Houston solar array in rural southcentral 乐虎直播.
Stakeholders interested in issues related to food, energy and land gathered in front of the 40-acre, 8.5-megawatt solar array that provides clean energy to the Matanuska Electric Association's customers and serves as the research site for the farthest north agrivoltaics research in the world. Agrivoltaics is the shared use of land for agriculture and solar photovoltaic, or PV, energy generation.
Stacie Peterson of NCAT kicked off the agenda, and 鈥檚 CEO Jenn Miller spoke about the importance of renewable energy and how solar can lower energy costs for 乐虎直播ns. Glenna Gannon, principal investigator for the , described the details of agrivoltaics from an agricultural perspective and explained how shade may have an impact on the vegetable crops, forage mix and native berries growing between the rows of solar panels.
Participants picked lingonberries growing between the solar panels.
Flora Deacon, an Indigenous chef, catered an 乐虎直播n charcuterie event that featured locally-grown ingredients and showcased her talent for assembling culturally-relevant, delicious and nutritious foods. Some of the star ingredients were smoked salmon, smoked cod, and reindeer sausage, all served with 乐虎直播-grown pairings. Deacon specially foraged lamb鈥檚 quarter, rhubarb and spruce tips to create a vegetarian dip and a spread of desserts. NCAT provided honey gathered from a beekeeping agrivoltaic site 鈥 鈥渟olar honey鈥 鈥 that sweetened the rhubarb pies.
After lunch, Gannon led the group through the solar panels while outlining some of the data streams that will measure plant health and PV energy generation during the research project. She pointed out some of the edible berries flourishing in the wide spaces between rows. Attendees gathered lingonberries, birch sprigs and fireweed flowers that they used to create cyanotype prints.
The open house at the Houston solar array not only highlighted the promising future of agrivoltaics in 乐虎直播 but also underscored the importance of community collaboration in advancing renewable energy development. The team looks forward to more energizing events that bring community together around food and energy security in 乐虎直播.
The cyanotype station allowed people to take home sun printed souvenirs of solar-grown vegetation.
This event was made possible by the project partners: NCAT, U.S. Department of Energy ; ; Renewable IPP; 乐虎直播 乐虎直播 Center for Energy and Power; and UAF鈥檚 Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension.
The Solar Energy Technologies Office supports solar energy research, development, demonstration and technical assistance to improve the affordability, reliability and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the electric grid.