In the year 2000 when Minnesota passed a ground-breaking law that outlines the best practices to provide pollinator habitat on solar power stations. They also (unexpectedly) contributed to creating a program known as Solar Honey that sees solar-powered companies and commercial beekeepers collaborate in a mutually beneficial partnership.
On May 31, 2016, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed the Pollinator Friendly Solar Act into law. It’s the first of its kind law that sets out guidelines for managing native habitats, such as wildflowers and prairie grasses–for birds, pollinators, as well as other beneficial animals. Local governments and solar developers can benefit from these guidelines, which offer suggestions on what seeds to choose, the best methods of setting up the plants, and how to care for the area to provide these helpful creatures with a safe place to call home. They also receive bragging rights to show that they comply with state laws. They must also provide their vegetation plan accessible to the public, in addition to other conditions. The idea is taking off in the solar industry across Minnesota.
As we’ve previously reported, pollinators have been experiencing habitat loss at an alarming rate due to growth, mono-cropping, and logging. In the years 2015-2016, in particular, there was USDA recorded a decline of 44 percent of U.S. honey bee colonies. Bees play a huge part in food production, pollinating about 75 percent of nuts, fruits, and vegetables produced throughout the U.S.
Connexus Energy, Minnesota’s largest owner-owned power provider, serves around 130,000 customers in the eastern portion of the state. Customers purchase shares so they don’t need to maintain and install solar panels in their homes. Shortly after the law’s passage, the company initially included a pollinator habitat on the 1.2 acres solar array known as SolarWise garden in Ramsey, Minn. This April, the company took it further and put in bee hives.
The company has partnered in partnership with the local beekeepers Bolton Bees on the project, which was one of the very first U.S. solar facilities to house a commercial bee operation. In the past, two other large (about 40 acres in each) solar array sites were owned by different companies and have been put into apiaries, as per Rob Davis from Fresh Energy, the environmental consulting firm in St. Paul. “Altogether, the three sites provide pollinator habitat equivalent to more than 40,000 homes each having a 6 by 12 pollinator garden,” the expert says to Modern Farmer in an email.
Travis and Chiara Bolton, who are the owners of Bolton Bees in St. Paul, have just begun their first honey harvests from the three sites. They have already harvested three thousand pounds of what they refer to as “Solar Honey”-honey produced in or around solar array sites. They will extract the remaining 20 frames by October in a special gathering in the SolarWise garden. The majority of this honey can be offered at supermarkets. However, some will be distributed to those who subscribe to the solar park or local events for community fundraising.
In addition to the sites in Minnesota, Bolton Bees plans to set up beehives at solar farms in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. They are also trying to promote the idea of selling marketable honey to commercial beekeepers, intending to create the industry’s standard of this procedure. They’ve registered the name “Solar Honey” and licensed it to other food producers, beekeepers, and energy companies willing to adhere to specific production standards. “We hope this model can be replicated throughout the nation,” says Travis Bolton.