High voltage horticulture: Where veggies meet volts
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EmailGLEXPO speaker will share how you can amp up your vegetable production and have an electrifying harvest.
Watt’s up with commercial vegetable production under solar? This is the question Ajay Nair will be answering in two sessions during the Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market Expo (GLEXPO) in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Wednesday, December 10. Nair is Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. He leads a project growing vegetables on a commercial scale at the Alliant Solar Farm at Iowa State University.
The first session from 8:30-9:30 a.m. focuses on what is required to create a functional commercial vegetable operation in a solar project. The session will highlight the process undertaken to create a 10-acre agrivoltaics site that produces 1.3MW electricity along with commercial scale vegetable production. The information shared will be a road map for commercial vegetable growers and solar developers who want to work together to grow vegetables in solar projects.
The second session from 10:30-11:30 a.m. will highlight the vegetable production enterprise at the Alliant Solar Farm. This session focuses on the production of bell peppers, squash and broccoli, and will include crop growth, yield and quality data. You’ll be shocked by the results.
To register for these sessions, visit Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market Expo.
If you have questions about commercial vegetable production under solar, or agrivoltaics in general, please contact Charles Gould, Michigan State University Extension Bioenergy Educator, at 616-834-2812 or gouldm@msu.edu.
