NREL Partners With Black Farmers’ Collaborative To Plan Solar Panels For Florida Farms & Churches
ByOn Cetta Barnhart’s demonstration farm in Monticello, Florida, she grows citrus trees, leafy greens, and other produce that often goes to the community-supported agriculture project she founded, Seed Time Harvest Farms. Soon, there will be a new addition on her property: solar panels.
Building trust with NREL before partnering with the laboratory was key to the success of this effort. Deleveaux was among a diverse group of stakeholders that participated in meetings with NREL researchers throughout the Expert Match process. Alexandra Kramer, an NREL researcher who helped the Black Farmers’ Collaborative develop plans for installing solar panels on houses of worship, said having perspectives from an array of invested community members—including farmers, local and state leaders, educators, and consultants—was valuable throughout the project.
Incorporating solar panels on Barnhart’s farm was one of two priorities the team chose for their Expert Match project. “There’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” McCall said. “It’s really about providing this landscape and then allowing the community to say, ‘This is what I want to do.'” “Outlining the process all the way through was one way NREL could provide valuable insight that would allow the community to make their own decisions,” Kramer said.
Johnson Austin said she hopes the project “inspires a generation of STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] professionals,” a goal shared by Perry Blackmon III, a community activist, sustainable cattle farmer, and member of the Black Farmers’ Collaborative in Selma, Alabama. Blackmon, a wellness coach at Selma High School, said he does not see enough enticing jobs to keep young people in Selma.
“You run into these challenges with most governmental programs that only repeat cycles and don’t really bring people out of cycles. And I think what we’re working on here is to bring people out of cycles and to new opportunities,” she said. “I’m just grateful to be a part of that type of program where we can hopefully see some changes.
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