Tag Archive for: case study

Case Study: Fiddlehead Farms

By Anna Richmond-Mueller, NCAT Energy Analyst 

Known as the “Sunshine State,” it’s easy to see why solar energy production should be right at home in Florida. The state is also one of the country’s top agricultural producers, raising billions of dollars worth of specialty crops and livestock each year. Agrivoltaics seems like a natural fit and a potential option for farmers and ranchers looking to diversify their revenue and support the growth of renewable energy in the state. At Fiddlehead Farms, owners Walter and Sharon Liebrich are embracing that potential, working hard to bring an agrisolar pilot project and educational space to life in Tallahassee.   

Walter’s interest in agrivoltaics is deeply rooted in his passion for renewable energy. In 1998, Walter was the High School Florida State Champion in Policy Debate when the yearlong topic debated the pros and cons of increasing the use of renewable energy in the U.S. Then in 2004, he earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Askew School of Public Administration at Florida State University. At the time he was in graduate school, connecting a solar project to the grid was an opportunity largely limited to big businesses and utilities. His thesis advocated for solar net metering and interconnection policies for individuals and small businesses in the state, something that wouldn’t be in the Florida statutes until 2008. After earning his degree, Walter went on to work as a Senior Policy and Budget Analyst in the Governor’s Office for 15 years before transitioning into the solar industry. He is also on the Board of Directors for ReThink Energy, a local nonprofit dedicated to community outreach and education for Floridians as the city moves towards its clean energy goals. Through his work with ReThink Energy, Walter joined the Tally 100% Together Coalition and helped to pass a unanimous city commission resolution in 2023, committing Tallahassee to 100% renewable energy by 2050.  

The Liebrich Family.

Walter and Sharon both share a passion for farming and gardening, as well. After meeting in 2009, they started pursuing those passions together by cultivating an edible landscape at their home, with the goal of having their child pick the vegetables for that night’s dinner right in their own backyard.  The 0.3-acre primary residence in midtown Tallahassee is home to many varieties of citrus, blueberries, blackberries, fig, pears, mangos, kiwi, avocado, pineapple, peaches and more. They also have a year-round seasonal garden comprised of anything from broccoli, kale, and arugula to tomatoes, peppers, and squash. They began their apiary work in 2019, successfully cultivating bees to help support the worldwide food shortage. By 2023, their impressive dedication to renewable energy and specialty crop production led them to set their sights on a new goal: creating an agrivoltaic community solar project.  

Around the same time, the Tallahassee City Commission unanimously adopted the 100% renewable energy resolution, and Walter and Sharon poured their entire life savings into the purchase of a 5-acre piece of property adjacent to a new public park and cypress preserve in Tallahassee. Their vision for the newly purchased land includes a 1-megawatt agrivoltaic array that would provide locally grown produce for the community, while also helping bring the city closer to its 100% renewable energy goals. However, before that vision can come to life, they must overcome some regulatory barriers for solar in the City of Tallahassee. “Anything from 100 kilowatts to 75 megawatts is all basically regulated under the same umbrella, which is extremely cost-prohibitive,” Walter explains. Projects in this size range are required to undergo thousands of dollars of grid and impact studies before an array can be built. Fortunately, thanks to all his volunteer work with ReThink Energy and Tally 100%, Walter has cultivated a network of professionals in the city and utility, who all want to see his vision become a reality. He understands the importance of building bridges further from home, as well. From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to the Florida State Director of the Office of Energy, Walter continues to make connections that will be vital in the project’s success. He continues to work with city officials towards a positive change in the regulations for mid-size projects, as well.  

The solar aspect of the pilot project might still be in the early stages, but there’s already a lot happening at the site on the agricultural front. The unkept land was mostly filled with invasive species and heavily vining plants when Walter and Sharon bought it. Clearing invasive species, wild vines, and other biomass on-site is necessary for the project’s implementation. That doesn’t mean that the site will be clear cut and bulldozed, though. Instead, selected areas will be cleaned up while others will remain largely as they are. Any brush and invasive trees that do need to be removed are being used to create biochar, which Walter then uses to construct the raised beds for the row crops. Kale, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, squash, pineapple, banana, and kiwi will all make an appearance throughout the year. The site is also home to wild sparkleberries and persimmon bushes. These plants will be incorporated into the site’s agricultural production by grafting their close, more familiar cousins onto the existing bushes. Japanese Fuyu persimmons will be grafted onto the wild persimmon bushes, and blueberries will be grafted onto the sparkleberries. Once the plans for solar panels are solidified, they will be built around and above the raised beds and bushes already in place. 

Biochar raised beds.

Looking ahead, Fiddlehead Farms hopes to make a positive impact on both local communities and the agrisolar research community. Most of the food grown at the site will be donated to Second Harvest of the Big Bend, a nonprofit fighting food insecurity in the region. When it comes to research, Walter understands the importance of having test sites and welcomes collaborations with universities, research institutions, and solar companies. He hopes to install a variety of racking types, tracking abilities, and panel heights across the site. Fiddlehead Farms is also a nonprofit organization, and anyone interested in becoming involved in the project is encouraged to reach out to Walter and his team at fiddleheadfarmstlh@gmail.com.  

It’s easy to see the decades of passion and vision behind Fiddlehead Farms. Pilot projects play an important role in showcasing the potential for agrivoltaics to truly make a difference in local communities. Whether it’s providing locally grown food to those in need or working with public officials to make positive changes in renewable energy policy, Fiddlehead Farms is poised to do it all for the Tallahassee area. “From the beginning, I’ve understood the importance of building all kinds of bridges. National, state, and local – even the friends that we’ve made here with the neighbors at the site,” Walter explains. Fiddlehead Farms is the next step in bringing those people together and strengthening the resiliency of the local community.  

All photos courtesy of Walter Liebrich. 

Expanding Agrivoltaics in Massachusetts

For several years, NCAT has been highlighting the benefits of agrivoltaics through the AgriSolar Clearinghouse project. And just as there are significant benefits to agrivoltaics, there are also barriers that keep more sites from being developed across the country, such as extra costs for site design, reduced energy production per acre, regulatory issues, and community pushback. In the current environment, it can take a passionate, mission-driven company to lead the way in changing how solar is integrated into agricultural systems. BlueWave is one such company.

BlueWave, a Boston-based solar development company, focuses on agrivoltaic solar projects, helping farmers design and integrate solar energy production on their farmland. One of the most prolific agrivoltaic developers in the country, BlueWave has recently added five more of these sites to their project portfolio, which totals over 91 acres and produces over 19 megawatts (MW) of electricity—enough to power more than 2,500 homes.

BlueWave’s latest series of installations began in 2023 and will be completed this year in four separate towns across Massachusetts. These systems were designed for adaptive dual-use purposes, meaning that a variety of agricultural enterprises can take place under the panels. Collectively, these solar installations represent many major agrivoltaic practices, including vegetable production, hay making, and grazing of sheep and cattle. Also, the forage blends used on the grazing sites include plants that are beneficial for pollinators.

(Caption: The increased height of the panels at this Dighton location allows the farmer to access the land with agricultural equipment. Photo: BlueWave)

One project in Dighton, Massachusetts, encompasses 21 fenced acres with 3.6 MW of installed solar panels that will produce an estimated 5,660 megawatt-hours of energy annually. Battery storage will contribute to the resilience of the electric grid by allowing the installation to provide clean energy to the grid when the sun isn’t shining. The panels here are raised 10 feet off the ground with 25 feet of space between the rows of panel post supports. This spacing will allow for agriculture equipment operation under the panels. BlueWave will be managing this site for the 2024 season, planting cover crops to improve soil health and fertility in preparation for vegetable production on the site. A small section of the land will be used to grow vegetables this year, though the final agricultural use will be determined by the farmer and will be adaptable over the years.

An hour away in the town of Douglas, a very similar solar installation will soon be completed and will be managed by a local farmer. Just over 20 acres was fenced to house 3.4 MW of power production. These panels are also raised and spaced to allow the farmer to maintain and harvest the hay fields below the panels.

A third, slightly smaller BlueWave agrivoltaic site was completed in Haverhill, a town in the far northeastern part of the state. Almost 15 acres were fenced in here with just over 2 MW of solar installed. Again, the panels were raised high enough to allow for grazing or tractor work on the fields

below the panels. A combination of vegetable production and livestock grazing by local farmers is the most likely use for this location.

(Caption: This site in Haverhill, Massachusetts, stands ready for grazing and vegetable production by local farmers. Photo: BlueWave)

On the other side of the state, a 2.4-MW system covering almost 12 acres was developed near the town of Palmer. This system, like the others, is designed for tractor work and large livestock grazing. The site will continue to be used by the landowner, Burgundy Brook Farm, for making hay and to graze cattle. As with the other sites that will see the use of farming equipment under the panels, the solar arrays are elevated, and the support posts are spaced to accommodate equipment and to allow enough sunlight to grow crops and forages under the panels.

A fifth BlueWave installation, also in Palmer, has a more conventional design with the panels closer to the ground and the panel rows closer together. But even here, the plan is for sheep grazing to manage the vegetation under the panels. Solar grazing like this can benefit farmers looking for land to graze their sheep. It can be less costly for the solar site management than hiring a land-management company or landscaper to do the job. And the generous amount of shade provided by the panels has multiple benefits for the sheep herd and the forage being grown. (See the recent ATTRA blog post “Throw Some Shade: Protecting Livestock from Heat Stress.”)

(Caption: Burgundy Brook Farm owns the land at this site in Palmer and will continue to graze cattle and make hay here. Photo: BlueWave)

In a further commitment to support agricultural production, BlueWave provided specialized farm equipment for use at several of these sites. For the site in Dighton, BlueWave has purchased a Carraro 80-hp tractor, a 3-shank chisel plow, a rotary harrow and seeder, a flail mower, and a 3-point to skid-steer adapter plus buckets. They anticipate purchasing an additional cultivating tractor, plastic mulch layer and water wheel transplanter for use on this site. Additionally, BlueWave purchased a John Deere 5425 and a Kuhn baler for Burgundy Brook Farm to use in their hay and grazing operation at the site in Palmer.

Agrivoltaics can help mitigate many of the challenging issues associated with the intense expansion of utility- scale solar development happening across the country. It can keep land in agricultural production while simultaneously producing valuable solar energy for the grid. The shade provided by the solar arrays can help retain soil moisture and improve the growth of many types of crops and forages with reduced irrigation. The shade also reduces heat stress and improves herd health when the land is used for grazing. The financial benefits for the farmer can help keep high-value land as farmland and facilitate the transfer of that land to the next generation. BlueWave understands these possibilities and is creating a space for them with on-the-ground agrivoltaic installations in Massachusetts.

Chiktopia: Solar Grazing with Automated Chicken Coops 

By Allen Puckett, NCAT Technical Writer 

August 2023 

In Ballground, Georgia, Jeffrey Whitmire and Chris Ayers, owners and operators of Chiktopia, are making use of an innovative solar technology that allows them to automate pastured poultry production while also practicing regenerative agriculture. Whitmire and Ayers, both students at the University of Georgia, produce and use fully automated solar-powered chicken coops on their operation, which they also sell to other farmers. In addition, Chicktopia provides regenerative grazing services to farmers. 

These solar-powered chicken coops assist in building the topsoil (regenerative agriculture) using chickens. The self-moving, automated chicken coops makes spreading manure and flock rotations much easier for farmers and results in healthier soil with a higher level of organic matter. Chiktopia suggests that automated equipment such as these solar chicken coops are mandatory for regenerative agriculture in the future.  

“At Chiktopia we believe sustainable farming practices are not only what are best for the planet but are also what create the happiest animals and the healthiest food. We help farmers minimize labor and maximize management. 

Our automated chicken coops use renewable energy systems, which automate the majority of the labor in the pastured-poultry process. Whether it be for broilers or egg-layers our coop will help save you time and labor.” – Chiktopia 

Chiktopia aims to help build a more resilient food system across the United States using pasture-raised poultry, says Whitmire. 

The Regenerative Process 

If a farmer wants a section of land to be converted into a regenerative crop farm, Chiktopia provides that service and process. The first step in the process is to put egg-laying hens on the land in the mobile, solar-powered coops. Once the hens are rotated through the whole pasture, dairy cows are then put on the land to spread more manure. This last step of the grazing process allows the soil to sustain more vegetation through increased microbe quality and carbon sequestration. This improvement in soil health is known as regenerative grazing.  

Traditional Chicken Coops 

A traditional chicken coop is made of steel and must be manually lifted or moved using a handle or trailer hitch on one end. This requires much more manual labor than having an automated coop. Moving these traditional coops causes the pasture to be damaged when chickens spend too much time in one spot. The mobility of the new solar-powered coop keeps the chickens from destroying the pasture and allows the organic matter in the soil to regenerate. 

Solar-Powered Chicken Coops 

The solar-powered chicken coops are equipped with an automated temperature-control system, automated chicken feeder, sun-tracking solar array system, automated pressurized watering system, automated egg collector, and even heat lamps for young chicks. These coops have a traditional hitch for farmers who might prefer moving the coop with ATVs or trucks, but they can also be easily moved with a handheld remote control. 

When the coop moves, the birds don’t seem to mind at all. On the outside of the coup is an electrified perimeter fence that keeps the chickens in and predators out. When the hens are first put on a specific site, they spend a couple days in the coop getting comfortable with the new location, says Whitmire. They are then let out of the coop into the fencing area where they can roam. 

The floor of the mobile coop is lined with plastic netting that allows the bird manure to fall to the pasture below. Feeders are aligned on the two sides of the coop above the netting where the birds tend to spend most of their time. When they aren’t feeding, there is a ladder in the center of the coop that allows the birds to get up near the ceiling and roost on installments designed for chicken roosting.  

These automated, solar-powered chicken coops are available to order on  Chiktopia’s website. Depending on the needs of the farmer and the design of the coop, costs can vary, ranging from $8,000 to $20,000. One coop created by Chiktopia houses up to 400 birds. 

Predation Prevention and Shelter  

These coops provide effective predation prevention. The sturdy cover provided by the coop protects hens from hawks and other predatory birds when they are inside. The coop’s design also reliably provides protection from harsh weather and other conditions that may make the birds uncomfortable or unsafe. 

“We keep our birds protected through using strong materials on the coop and an electrified fence. Solar panels also reflect light at raptors.” – Chiktopia  

Future Improvements 

Chiktopia plans to make improvements to their coops, including a rainwater diverter that puts water directly into the watering tank that will be available to the chickens.  

“Our birds have never been happier, and collecting eggs has never been easier! Daily movements are easy because the coop moves itself.” We were not able to move our birds on pasture before we had an automated Chiktopia coop.” – Chiktopia customer 

Community Centered Solar Development (CCSD)Case Study Interviews

As part of Berkeley Lab’s Community-Centered Solar Development (CCSD) project, this research set out to explore deep insights and perceptions from large-scale solar (LSS) stakeholders that only qualitative data can provide to identify key factors driving project success or threatened failure. Case studies, such as those utilized in this research, are uniquely adept at capturing the subjective experience of individuals and at identifying variables, structures, and interactions between stakeholders. Our case studies included 54 semi-structured interviews across 7 different LSS sites, representing a diversity of geographies, project sizes (MW), site types (i.e., greenfield, agrivoltaic, and brownfield / contaminated sites), zoning jurisdiction types, and more. In addition to local residents living in close proximity to these LSS sites, we interviewed other key stakeholders involved in the projects such as developers, decision-makers, utility representatives, landowners, and individuals from community-based organizations. The overarching aim of this case study research was two-fold: (1) to inform subsequent tasks in the CCSD research project (including an upcoming national survey of LSS neighbors), and (2) to provide insights into the following set of research questions: -What are the key positive and negative drivers leading to support and opposition to LSS projects? -To what extent do LSS projects exacerbate or mitigate perceived inequities and marginalization within hosting communities and how can those inequities be mitigated going forward? -What strategies can communities employ to align LSS development with local land-use plans and community needs and values? 

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Solar Shepherd in Massachusetts: Solar Grazing 

By Allen Puckett, NCAT Technical Writer 

July 2023 

The Solar Shepherd provides grazing services in Brookfield, Massachusetts, with 75 sheep that graze a solar array site owned by SWEB Development, a European clean energy firm. This beneficial partnership was born when SWEB reached out to Solar Shepherd for grazing services after seeing their solar-grazing sites on social media. Learn more about the partnership in the AgriSolar Clearinghouse’s video How a Shepherd and Solar Developer are Joining Forces to Grow Sheep, Clean Energy. 

Solar Shepherd’s founder and owner Dan Finnegan is a third- generation sheep farmer in eastern Massachusetts. His history working in a corporate environment led him to think more about what was important to him—the land, local farming, and clean energy. While he likes raising sheep, there wasn’t enough acreage for it to be profitable without agrisolar sites. 

“It wouldn’t be enough to produce a living for a family,” he said. “This is more than a hobby-farming operation. With solar grazing, we dramatically expand our flock. We work hard to be competitive with landscapers on these sites. The grazing fees mitigate the costs and pay down the investment to take the show on the road (transporting sheep to solar sites). We’re used to farming out the back door, and now we have sites spread hundreds of miles apart. The grazing fees make that cost affordable.”  

“I saw a solar array built on a lambing pasture, and a landscaper showed up with a tractor and started mowing up the solar arrays. He was going about 30 mph with a batwing sprayer and was mowing the rows and hosing down the panels around the arrays. I was thinking, they should just put the sheep down there and let them graze,” Dan recalled. 

Solar Grazing Site Specifications and Management  

The site is in a 15-acre array that produces 5 MW of DC and 3.375 MW of AC, enough to power approximately 1,100 homes. A landowner leases the land to SWEB, and SWEB hires Dan to graze the solar arrays with the sheep. The pricing is relatively the same as traditional mowing and gas-powered landscapers, but grazing sheep comes with many environmental benefits, such as enhanced landscape stabilization that directly benefits the solar companies. This stabilization includes deeper root systems on previously rocky terrain, improved turf health, and significant runoff reduction. 

Solar Shepherd practices rotational grazing on their sites, which allows more carbon in the soil and retains more moisture. “We see that impact very rapidly. There are some sites we had that, in just one year, the customer came to us and said, ‘I can’t believe the impact the sheep had on the vegetation sustainability. It was rocky before, and now there are deeper root systems, stabilized soil.’ Erosion is a big concern at the base of the panels. A direct benefit to the solar companies is stabilizing that ground,” Dan added. 

There’s also the “Fuzz and Buzz” – a solar seed blend used at the Brookfield site that benefits pollinators and sheep. It’s not as robust of a floral bloom, but the bees and sheep benefit greatly from this blend. A gas-powered mower removes all the vegetation on an array in a single day. The sheep take around a month to “mow” the same array. This allows valuable pollinator habitat to be left for the bees and birds. There’s good seed-to-solar contact, and the imprints from the sheep hooves allow the seeds to be captured in the soil. The sheep help the effectiveness of reseeding a site and some graziers will run the sheep back over the seeds to help stomp them down into the earth. 

Solar grazing includes running three main operations: a sheep farm, a trucking company (as you move the animals), and a commercial landscaping business. “It’s more than just opening the gate, throwing the sheep in there, and driving away. There are always some sites that require things outside the lines,” said Dan.  

Dan’s partner, border collie Reggie, has been vitally important in effectively managing the sheep on solar sites. In the trucking operation, sheep are loaded in and out of trucks over and over, and that requires collecting them from one site to another to be loaded into the trucks.  

Reggie is immensely valuable in this process. She rounds up the sheep quickly, whereas it would take multiple human workers significantly more time. She is vital to effective time management (and cost, if you consider paying multiple workers to round up sheep all the time). Reggie moves the sheep around the array in accordance with rotational grazing practices. 

Grant Incentives in Massachusetts 

Massachusetts does have a grant program for dual use of solar (Massachusetts SMART Initiative), but it is “written in such a fashion that it can be difficult to be profitable,” said Dan. The grant does not apply to sites that already exist, and it requires panels to be built 10 feet off the ground. Solar Shepherd has not received this grant and has also not yet grazed an array that fits the 10-foot grant requirement.  

Livestock production is diminishing in Massachusetts and what’s left is small-scale vegetable farming. Dan speculates that the state is writing laws for solar development incentives with this in mind instead of grazing sheep under solar panels. 

Community Response 

“The community loves what we’re up to,” said Dan. “We had about 500 comments (on the recent video featured on CBS) and all of them were loving what we are doing. There are a few political comments. So, grazing sheep on solar might bring some unification from a political perspective.”  

He also added that, “At least half the time I show up, there is a family there outside the gate at the fence watching the sheep. People are wanting to bring kids out to the sites to see the sheep. I’d like to do a program where people can come see them. We would love to host a solar event. We’re going to bring some sheep to town off the hill in Brookfield so people can see them and interact with them. I have a dream of bringing a bus load of kids out here to see how bees, sheep, and everything all come together.” 

Since the Brookfield location is an ancient hay site where indigenous peoples managed the land when colonists first arrived, not damaging the vegetation or compacting the soil during the solar array installation was very important. This priority to minimize damage to the land could have a positive impact on community support for a solar site, particularly on ancient farmland or similarly valued sites. Communities like to see that a (solar) development company cares about the land and the process of development. 

Considerations for New Sheep Graziers 

New sheep graziers or those thinking about getting into sheep grazing on solar sites should consider a couple of things throughout the process. Educating themselves on what’s happening on the solar array is very important. “They don’t have to be engineers,” says Dan, “but they should understand what’s happening and what the potential dangers are and keep themselves and animals away from those areas. Stay out of areas where you might think ‘I should have an electrician in there.’ These are areas that contain things like cable trays and equipment pads.”  

Don’t move forward with grazing a solar site if you haven’t walked the location and examined it for suitable conditions for your sheep. If construction techniques did not leave a space where you would feel comfortable leaving the sheep, such as poor wire management or dangerous or sharp edges on array components, it may be a good decision to decline grazing in that location.  Dan says the sites he turns down are for animal welfare reasons. There might not be enough nutrition on the site, but it is usually wiring management. A good perimeter fence can also make a site more ideal for sheep.  

Operating a grazing operation on your own property requires having a plan for food and water delivery, as well as for avoiding predation. A plan should be in place for responding to issues that may arise on the site and with little notice. Solar Shepherd has a 24-7 hotline for such issues. 

For fencing, Dan prefers to use electric netting, which provides effective  protection from predators. Coyotes prefer to go under the fence rather than over it, and considering such nuances in predator-prevention strategies can help design a fencing system that is most effective for your area and your circumstances. Hiring people who think from the sheep’s perspective is important, says Dan. Fortunately, he has not had any issues with predation to his sheep.  

The Future of Solar Shepherd and Solar Grazing 

The future of Solar Shepherd is looking bright. It originally took the company approximately one year to get hooves on the ground at a solar site. Now it only takes about a week or two. “I feel great about the solar grazing future and Solar Shepherd. The sales pitches are getting shorter and shorter. The world is becoming aware of this subject. Five years ago, it was, ‘You’re doing what?!’ The last pitch I gave was an hour-long presentation. I got 15 minutes into the meeting, and people said, ‘It’s great; we are ready to sign.’”