Fresh Energy will be presenting at the Soil & Water Conservation Society International Meeting on July 28, 2020. Register for the conference and join Fresh Energy and partners from 3-4:30 p.m. for the session:

Big Solar: Industrial Blight or Next-Gen Conservation?
Since 2013 the Midwest has gone from just a few acres to several thousand acres of solar farms. Eight states have adopted innovative policies that establish minimum standards for certain kinds of ground cover on the projects. Can the land in and around solar farms enrich the soil, improve the water, and provide suitable habitat for pollinators? As this new land use emerges, are there tradeoffs in a clean energy future? A panel including energy, policy, and conservation experts will explore these questions and share their experiences.

Speakers:

• Elysa Hammond, SVP Environmental Stewardship, Clif Bar
• Pete Berthelsen, Partnership Director, Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund
• Heidi Hartmann, Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
• Rob Davis, Director of the Center for Pollinators in Energy at Fresh Energy