It’s projected that by 2050, 7 out of 10 people in the world will live in urban areas, totaling 6 and half billion people. The ecological footprint of these cities will be vast, and the more we can do to make these areas self-sufficient, the more habitable the entire planet will be. Today’s guest offers a novel solution to this challenge. Inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the stratification of an old-growth forest, Dr. Jennifer Bousselot studies the benefits of combining solar panels with green roofs. This method - called agrivoltaics - brings agriculture and photovoltaics together in a shared space. Growing food under the shade of solar panels has some surprising benefits, which are being revealed through research institutions like Colorado State University, where Dr. Bousselot serves as a professor of horticulture and landscape architecture.

In her 2020 TED Talk, Dr. Bousselot coined the term “rooftop agrivoltaics”, referring to an innovative approach that integrates solar panels with green roofs. I recently toured the rooftop agrivoltaics site at CSU Spur, one of several agrivoltaics projects that Dr. Bousselot oversees. Touring this site gave me a new perspective on how rooftops can be utilized to produce energy, grow food, manage stormwater, and cool our cities. This conversation is for anyone curious about renewable energy, urban agriculture, green roofs, or sustainable design. Whether you are just discovering agrivoltaics or are already invested in the intersection of energy and ecology, I think you will find this conversation illuminating. Please enjoy!

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For additional features like video, you can find transcribed versions of this and future episodes at my personal Substack, Echoing Earth.

The music for this podcast is Siesta by Ikson, part of the “Tell Your Story” project—a library of free music for content creators. Visit ikson.com to explore the full catalog.