High Voltage Horticulture: Where Veggies Meet Volts

By M. Charles Gould

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.