Here at the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center and Jack’s Solar Garden we are excited for another busy season of showcasing agrivoltaics. Our educational programming, community collaborations, and policy outreach are all growing in great ways!
Scroll down to read about upcoming Tours, Events, Webinars, Workshops, and more.
With love, from Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center team.
Tours & Events
The tour season at Jack’s Solar Garden runs from April-October! Public tours will be held bi-weekly on Saturdays throughout the season(weather permitting).
Join our own Allison Jackson in a webinar hosted by Colorado Renewable Energy Society!
In this webinar, we will explore how agrivoltaic systems are transforming the way we think about land use, clean energy, and sustainable farming. Click here to register.
This event is hosted by the Larimer County and Boulder County Extension office in partnership with NREL, Agrisolar Consulting, Jacks Solar Garden, and Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center.
Announcing our new Roadshow!
First up was Garfield County
Last week, CALC launched our agrivoltaics roadshow series with a visit to Garfield county!
The roadshow focused on introducing the region to agrivoltaics and building new partnerships to support future agrivoltaic initiatives. We spent time meeting with the local electric cooperative (Holy Cross), renewable energy and land conservation nonprofits, various government officials, even some middle school students, and attended the Colorado Youth Climate Summit and Carbondale's First Friday event.
CALC plans to continue these roadshows in different regions to become an agrivoltaics resource for all of Colorado! Are you interested in what we are doing and wanting to share it with more people in your region? We do too! Weld County you are next. Who else would like to have us visit? Please feel free to reach out and let us know what region you are in and we'll see what we can do to put together a seminar near you.
Student Corner
Spring field trip season is in full bloom! We've had the pleasure of welcoming students from Northridge High School, Kent Denver, Denver Center for International Studies, and Foothill Elementary throughout April and May. They had the exciting opportunity to tour the farm, build solar-powered fans and rovers, and dive into hands-on activities that engaged their minds and got their hands dirty!
CALC was thrilled to take part in the inaugural Colorado Youth Climate Summit in Carbondale, where over 75 students from across the state gathered to explore cutting-edge research, discover green career pathways, and build the skills to become tomorrow’s climate advocates and leaders. While in Carbondale, we also had the pleasure of visiting Riverview School, where we engaged all eighth-grade students in hands-on lessons about agrivoltaics and solar energy.
Free Webinar Series
We are hosting more great webinars this year!
Our free webinar series will continue throughout 2025.
Save these dates from 1pm-2.30pm Mountain Time!
More information on topics and panelists will be shared throughout the year.
As a reminder, all of our free webinars are recorded! You can find recordings for all webinars from 2023, 2024, and 2025 here.
If there are any webinar topics we haven't covered but you'd like to hear, please reach out to us with suggestions!
2025 CSA with Sprout City Farms
Sprout City Farms are still offering their CSA shares!
If you, your company, or your organization are interested in a Jack's Solar Garden Agrivoltaic Development Workshop - reach out to info@coagrivoltaic.org to express your interest.
“Solar energy is often framed as a threat to croplands. However, vast croplands in the midwestern United States already support corn ethanol biofuel, a form of energy with a greater land-use footprint per unit energy (~30×) and potential environmental impact (e.g., excessive fertilizer application) than solar energy. We envisioned sustainable agroecosystems that can result from converting a small proportion of corn ethanol croplands into ecologically informed solar facilities (i.e., ecovoltaics). We identified opportunities where the strategic placement of ecovoltaic solar could facilitate enhancement of ecosystem services like water quality, pollination services, and wildlife habitat in crop-dominated ecosystems. Our analysis offers an ecologically informed solution to facilitate a sustainable energy transition in croplands via colocated solar energy and ecosystem services.”
