We recently visited Jack’s Solar Garden to learn what solar development can look like when it’s designed to work with agriculture instead of replacing it. When we were there, the fields were still early in the season, nothing green yet, just rows of panels over bare soil, but we were still impressed with the setup 

Colorado’s energy future doesn’t have to come at the expense of our land, water, or agricultural communities. We already have working examples of a better path, especially with the powerful potential of solar power. Agrivoltaics, when farms incorporate a solar array into their land use practices, can provide more revenue to farmers, strengthen rural economies, and produce clean energy without the risks of fracking.

At Jack’s Solar Garden, researchers, farmers, and community members are demonstrating how solar development can work with agriculture instead of replacing it. This approach allows crops to grow and animals to forage beneath and around panels, while generating renewable electricity above.

The benefits are obvious for this small farm. Solar panels provide partial shade, which can reduce heat stress and water loss for the crops, and relief from the sun for the farm workers and the grazing animals.  Many crops show improved yields under these conditions. Agrivoltaic systems also allow farmers to gain a reliable source of income from hosting solar infrastructure, helping stabilize operations in an era of volatile weather and markets.

Unlike extractive industries, agrivoltaics doesn’t deplete or contaminate resources. It doesn’t require massive water withdrawals, and it doesn’t leave behind long-term environmental damage. Instead, it keeps land in agricultural use while adding a second layer of productivity.

For prairie systems like ours, this matters. We are already facing a declining snowpack, increasing drought pressure, and growing competition for water. Continuing to invest in fracking infrastructure locks us into a path that intensifies these risks. Investing in solar and agrivoltaics moves us toward resilience.

We don’t have to choose between energy production and agricultural preservation. Colorado farmers like Byron at Jack’s Solar Garden are already proving that we can do both. The question is not whether alternatives to fracking exist, it’s whether we will choose to support and scale the solutions already working in our own communities.

Learn more about Jack’s Solar Garden at https://www.jackssolargarden.com/

Sign and Share the Open Letter of Support to Stop the Expansion of Fracking at https://www.safeandhealthyco.org/