As a top-rated locally owned solar company in Northern Colorado, Sandbox Solar is committed to giving back and making a difference in our community. One of our top values has always been to foster local energy and food independence. We recently teamed up with The Growing Project to do more of this right here in Fort Collins. We’re also very passionate about the emerging field of agrivoltaics – where solar and crops can coexist.
The Growing Project’s mission is to promote an environmentally and socially just local food system through direct agricultural experiences, education, economic opportunities, and advocacy. One of the ways in which they do this is through youth education and community gardens. One of their gardens is located near the FoCo Cafe in an area called The FoCo Commons. This garden produces crops used by the cafe, gives the community a place to learn more about local food production, and is a sanctuary for all to enjoy.
Sandbox Solar recently donated a 600W, two-panel solar array for the garden. This system powers a USB outlet for phone chargers and the like for anyone in need. The panel is also designed to further education about the ways in which solar energy and agriculture can coexist, as well as help our community understand the potential of agrivoltaics.
The system that the Sandbox Solar team installed here is an agrivoltaic system similar to the system used in the research study we did in conjunction with Colorado State University. This particular kind of solar system is designed to allow sunlight to still filter through the panels, allowing the plants underneath to still grow, while still creating energy from the sunlight. Through the study, we’ve learned that vegetables such as lettuce and kale grow best under these panels, which is what The Growing Project has planted here.
Sandbox Solar is proud to be a top locally owned solar company, and we’re honored to support local institutions such as The Growing Project to increase sustainability and local food production in our community. We’re thrilled to be on the frontlines of the development of agrivoltaics projects like this one and we can’t wait to see how this plot grows with the added shade of the system.
Sandbox Solar is a locally owned solar company in Northern Colorado. We’ve installed thousands of solar panels across the region at homes and businesses alike. We’d love to help you reach your energy independence goals, too. Contact us for more information.
