Solar

Our program has expanded to include information and support for farmers considering either on-farm renewables for farm operations or leasing their land for large-scale solar development, including opportunities for co-siting of agriculture and solar.

Faculty, staff, and students from across Cornell University are researching various aspects of solar, including making panels more efficient, the potential for various types of land for siting solar, what grows under and around solar panels, what solar array designs allow for growing various crops, and even the social acceptance and economic impact of solar on the communities.

For more information, www.ccetompkins.org/solar or contact Guillermo Metz, Solar and Ag Senior Resource Educator, at gm52@cornell.edu.

Distributed Wind

Our program has expanded to include information and support for farmers considering Distributed Wind for farm operations.

Distributed wind (DW) is wind power that primarily serves the place where it’s sited.  Unlike utility-scale wind, it tends to be relatively small, usually single towers and turbines owned by a farmer or rural business.  Because the power goes back to serve local loads, it can directly offset some or all of a host’s electricity bills. NYS has net-metering laws that require the utility to purchase any excess power, so, just like with solar, the system usually provides power first to the host, then feeds any excess back into the grid. Any excess power produced by the host’s system accrues credits, which can accumulate and roll over every year (but expire after 20 years). When there isn’t sufficient wind, power flows from the grid to the host. Battery back- up is also possible for even more resilience or for off-grid applications.

For more information, visit www.ccetompkins.org/wind or contact Jordan Clements, Distributed Wind Program Educator, at jc3853@cornell.edu.