Regarding the Community Solar Garden
A letter from Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
A letter from Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
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We have heard from a handful of neighbors who have questions and concerns about the Community Solar Garden that Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms is installing in partnership with National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL), City and County of Denver and Xcel Energy. The project was displayed and discussed at our community Open House on March 26, 2022. The event was advertised in your HOA newsletter. Several neighbors from TrailMark attended based on our sign-in sheets.
We recently met with your HOA board president and HOA manager about the project. We reiterated our commitment to preserving the natural beauty of this area. We would not embark on this project if we had any reason to believe that this beauty would be degraded. As a public farm established in the early 1970s, we are constantly looking for new ways to grow crops and educate the public. Agrivoltaics (growing crops under solar arrays) is an emerging field that allows land to remain in production while generating renewable energy. A percentage of this power allotted to Chatfield Farms will make our operation self-sustaining in terms of electricity.
We confirmed that the solar panels in the installation will be non-reflective and will not negatively impact wildlife nor create reflected heat issues. This location was also selected as it is out of the wildlife corridor that exists at Chatfield Farms. We also discussed the possibility of planting trees as a buffer in some areas.
We will continue to update TrailMark homeowners through your board president and the TrailMark News Update newsletter. We value our relationship with TrailMark and look forward to sharing updates on this project.
Larry Vickerman
Director, Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
Drew Halpern
Energy Project Manager, Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency
Posted October 27, 2023
We recently met with your HOA board president and HOA manager about the project. We reiterated our commitment to preserving the natural beauty of this area. We would not embark on this project if we had any reason to believe that this beauty would be degraded. As a public farm established in the early 1970s, we are constantly looking for new ways to grow crops and educate the public. Agrivoltaics (growing crops under solar arrays) is an emerging field that allows land to remain in production while generating renewable energy. A percentage of this power allotted to Chatfield Farms will make our operation self-sustaining in terms of electricity.
We confirmed that the solar panels in the installation will be non-reflective and will not negatively impact wildlife nor create reflected heat issues. This location was also selected as it is out of the wildlife corridor that exists at Chatfield Farms. We also discussed the possibility of planting trees as a buffer in some areas.
We will continue to update TrailMark homeowners through your board president and the TrailMark News Update newsletter. We value our relationship with TrailMark and look forward to sharing updates on this project.
Larry Vickerman
Director, Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms
Drew Halpern
Energy Project Manager, Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency
Posted October 27, 2023