This public/private agrivoltaic project provides the dual land use of local sustainably grown agriculture with the implementation of the City of Tallahassee Commissions' goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050. Click here to read Tallahassee’s Clean Energy Plan:
Unanimous City Commission: 100% Renewable by 2050!
One potential criticism of the City of Tallahassee’s Clean Energy Plan stems from its practice of clear cutting Tallahassee trees to make land available for solar farms. This project seeks to show people that land does not need to be clear cut to deliver solar to the community.
Current Regulatory Barriers Preclude Community Solar Projects
Currently, Solar arrays larger than 100kW (~350 solar panels) and up to 75MW (~250,000 solar panels) are regulated under the same umbrella. This ineffective regulatory structure requires extensive technical engineering studies that are expensive and burdensome.
This private/public partnership seeks to explore new regulatory umbrellas by allowing for the expansion of smaller scale solar projects on private land which will also allow the City of Tallahassee to achieve its publicly stated goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Fiddlehead Farms agrivoltaic site has sustainably selected already growing native species on site and is utilizing this rootstock to graft pears, apples, blueberries, grapes and persimmons, instead of the traditional clear cutting.
Seasonable vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and kale are also grown with the perennially fruiting pineapples and kiwis abundant on site.
All of these fruits and vegetables will be under varying degrees of shading by the agrivoltaic solar panels to ensure optimum growth without heat stressing the plants.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has provided Fiddlehead Farms with multiple options for coupling agriculture with solar through its Expert Match Clean Energy to Communities Grant. You can read more about the grant here:
