Jack's Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado, has integrated 3,276 solar panels into its farming operations, demonstrating how agrovoltaics can help farmers adapt to climate change while generating income. The farm, named after the owner's late grandfather, Byron Kominek, has transformed a struggling 24-acre property into a model of sustainable agriculture.
From Struggling Farm to Solar-Powered Success
When Byron Kominek took over his family's farm in 2016, he faced challenges from warmer summers and reduced rainfall, which stunted the growth of grass for silage and hay. Seeking a solution, he turned to agrovoltaics—the practice of combining solar power production with crop and livestock farming. The solar array, costing $2 million to install, now generates 2 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, which Kominek sells to a local utility. The steady income from solar power covers the farm's basic costs, allowing Kominek to experiment with new crops.
Microclimates and Diverse Crops
The solar panels create microclimates that benefit a variety of plants. The farm has grown vegetables, raised ducks, geese, and chickens, and even hosts a beehive. Ashley Gilbert, founder of the Foothills Flax Project, noted that flaxseed blossoms thrive under the panels' shade. Kominek planted 1,500 berry bushes this spring, planning to open a pick-your-own berry operation once they mature. 'The microclimates of the solar array will help the berries from scalding in our blistering heat,' he said, adding that the panels also provide frost protection in fall and winter.
Research and Community Involvement
Jack's Solar Garden partners with university researchers to test best practices in agrovoltaic farming. Volunteers and staff, including Dolly Mossman, Anna Flick, and her daughter Violet, have planted medicinal herbs like yerba mansa under the panels. The farm's design requires careful planting and harvesting around metal supports, but the benefits of microclimates and income diversification outweigh the challenges.
A Vision for the Future
Kominek believes agrovoltaics could help many farmers if lawmakers and utilities expand transmission lines to rural areas. 'Our future is going to be more arid,' he said. 'We can plan, build and design ways that'll make it easier for future generations.' By combining renewable energy with agriculture, Jack's Solar Garden offers a replicable model for sustainable farming in a changing climate.
