{"id":395546,"date":"2020-12-08T10:03:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T15:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=395546"},"modified":"2020-12-08T10:03:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T15:03:32","slug":"sunshare-and-family-owned-farm-team-up-to-harvest-the-sun-create-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/sunshare-and-family-owned-farm-team-up-to-harvest-the-sun-create-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"SunShare and Family-Owned Farm Team Up to Harvest the Sun, Create Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nColorado farmers add a sun crop with community solar and gain long-term financial security
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Colorado, Dec. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Graham Carr spent the last 15 years working to restore his wife\u2019s family farm to fulfill her grandfather\u2019s wishes. The property located near Longmont, Colorado, is situated on dry, rocky soil that is challenging to farm and referred to as dry-land farming. Though he has a tenant farmer growing winter hay grass for dairy cows, not all the land is usable for crop growth. Graham Carr had been looking for alternative uses for those specific portions of the land to keep the farm productive and increase long-term, stable income, when he was approached by Colorado community solar company, SunShare.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually looking into solar potential when SunShare contacted me about a community solar garden,\u201d says Graham Carr. \u201cMy wife\u2019s grandfather always wanted the property to stay productive and always for crops. I thought, \u2018This is a chance to grow a different type of crop using the sun to harvest energy rather than plants,\u2019 and the idea that it would be available to the entire community made it even better.\u201d The Paula Carr Memorial Community Solar Garden will be built on the family land in memory of Graham Carr\u2019s wife who recently passed away.<\/p>\n

Community solar is a solar farm, not owned by the utility company, that provides electricity through the existing power grid. Instead of putting panels on rooftops, households and businesses subscribe to a portion of the energy produced by the community solar garden. The utility continues delivering energy to the home or business, and the subscriber receives solar credits on their electricity bill.<\/p>\n

Community solar gardens are becoming more commonplace in farmland as consumers increase demand for solar energy and landowners recognize the hidden gem of harvesting the sun. Farmers are finding uses for previously-unused land as companies like SunShare seek additional space to build. Long-term leases can guarantee stable incomes for landowners regardless of fluctuating crop costs and other farming challenges, ensuring legacies for families. Especially attractive are segments outside the reach of circular pivot irrigation systems, which optimize crop yields through efficient water use.<\/p>\n

Pivot systems irrigate circular segments but leave corners of land without water. These corner sections were previously unusable and did not generate income \u2013 and they provide the perfect opportunity for use as community solar gardens, which provide steady income along with clean renewable energy for the community for decades. Similarly, some mandated set-back areas often found on farm property are unusable for crops but work perfectly as hosts for solar gardens, improving land usage and sustainability.<\/p>\n

As more farmers learn of community solar potential on their property, they are thrilled to find out there is such a valuable use for this land without sacrifices to their crops, and this provides a unique way to maximize their income stream. When SunShare and Graham Carr worked together to identify where on the property the solar garden would be built, they identified a corner section that was soon to become unusable for crops, as Graham Carr and the tenant farmer were planning to install a pivot system that would render the sections of property outside of the watering curve useless for crops.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunShare was very concerned that I achieve what I wanted to get out of the land,\u201d says Graham Carr. The portion that was soon to be without value becomes a long-term financial security for future generations with a community solar garden. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting because this gives me an opportunity to generate income for the family while continuing my wife\u2019s grandfather\u2019s vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Graham Carr, farmers across the country are turning to community solar to expand the energy mix on their land and add long-term financial stability. The Community Solar Gardens Modernization Act, which was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis in 2019 at one of SunShare\u2019s other community solar gardens, increased the allowable size of community solar gardens from two megawatts to five megawatts \u2013 increasing the potential land lease revenue for farmers like Graham Carr, and increasing the subscription potential from about 450 households per garden to more than 1,100 households per garden. That same law increases the maximum garden size to 10 megawatts in 2023 \u2013 again doubling this potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always tried to build our community solar gardens in a way that improves the value of the land \u2013 whether by partnering with farmers to create value on unusable acreage, or by planting native wildflowers and grasses to provide forage for honeybees,\u201d Corrina Kumpe, SunShare COO, said. \u201cCommunity is at the very heart of what we do, and creating a legacy for families like the Carrs is a key component to our work to create access to clean, renewable energy for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham Carr and his family agree. They look forward to their new crop of solar energy.<\/p>\n

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