Pittsboro farm growing food and power

NOTE:  The ribbon cutting has been re-scheduled to Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. 

Farmer Doug Jones is famous for growing peppers that thrive in the Piedmont. Lyle Estill is famous for producing biofuel from recycled vegetable oil. The two often trade brainstorms over at the Eco Industrial Park in Pittsboro NC, where Jones runs Piedmont Biofarm, Estill concocts new schemes at Piedmont Biofuels, and food and energy projects often feed each other.

Lyle got to wondering if they could grow both food and electrical power at the park, on the same piece of land.  What if they erected an array of solar collectors high enough off the ground that food could be grown in the partial shade beneath them? They will soon get a chance to find out, as their solar double-cropping experiment gets underway.

Piedmont Biofuels, Piedmont Biofarm and new partners Miraverse Power and Light and Southern Energy Management will have the official public ribbon cutting for the project at 4 pm on Nov. 4 at the Eco Industrial Park.

The endeavor consists of an elevated 92.16 kilowatt solar array that will generate electricity above the north field of Piedmont Biofarm, while sustainable produce is harvested at the ground level. The nine-foot clearance of the solar photovoltaic system is designed specifically to encourage growing crops that thrive in partial shade.

“Double Cropping is a term we borrowed from the wind industry,” said Estill, noting that wind generators often co-exist with working farms.

On the other hand, Estill noted, in some jurisdictions, solar installations are being banned on prime farmland.  “We need clean energy.  And we need sustainable food,” he said.  “This installation will enable both.”

Financing for the project has been provided by Michael and Amy Tiemann, who recently opened Manifold Recording, a world-class recording and production facility in Chatham County.  “The vision for this facility has always been based around sustainability,” they said in a press release. “When we began calculating the energy required to run this facility, we simultaneously envisioned how we could fit that into an overall sustainability plan.  Of all the options we considered, solar double-cropping was far and away the simplest, fastest, and best approach to meeting our energy needs without diminishing the rich agricultural potential of Chatham County.  What good is sustainable energy without sustainable agriculture?”

Michael sits on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and has a keen interest in both renewable energy and local food.  He created Miraverse Power and Light as an entity for the double-cropping project.

Farmer Doug has been experimenting with partial shade crops for the past two growing seasons and will be farming beneath the array.  “As our agricultural zone changes, there are some vegetables that will benefit from some protection from the sun,” he said.

The 288-panel system is being installed by Southern Energy Management (SEM), a Morrisville-based company well known for utility scale solar arrays.  “We love this project because it challenges us to think about land use, climate change and where our food comes from, all at the same time,” said SEM co-founder Maria Kingery.  “This is the kind of project that made us want to get into the solar business in the first place and we hope to see many more projects like this in the future.”

This Solar Double Cropping project represents two years of planning, design, and engineering which resulted in a formal docket assignment by the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

Pittsboro Pepper Festival Oct. 2

The Pittsboro Pepper Festival may sound like it belongs on the list of “Top 10 Strangest Small Town Events in America,” but it’s one you don’t want to miss. While the obsession with local heirloom peppers might be a little quirky, this growing celebration of local food, beer, and music is truly a community event.  The 4^th Annual Pittsboro Pepper Festival is set for Sunday, October 2, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the newly constructed community park in Briar Chapel (north Chatham county off of US 15-501).

Local hotshot chefs will present appetizers and desserts featuring over 60 varieties of heirloom local peppers (everything from sweet to hot).

You’ll also enjoy peppery beer.  It could take you all evening to swallow the spicy samples from this dazzling list of participants from A to Z:  Andrea Williams, Angelina’s Kitchen, Bean and Barrel, Benjamin Wineries, Bobby’s Water Ice, Cackalacky Cantina 18,  Carolina Brewery  Carolina Crossroads Restaurant   Chatham Marketplace, Chicken Bridge Bakery, Crook’s Corner, Fullsteam Brewery,  Dos Perros Restaurant, 8 Seaboard, Hillsborough BBQ, The Granary at Fearrington, General Store Cafe, Green Man Brewery, Glass Half Full,  Lucky 32, Market Restaurant   On the Square,     Mez , The Natural Chef Program @ CCCC , Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery,  Triangle Brewery,  Saxapahaw General Store,  Starrlight Meadery, Stevie’s Booch, Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe  and  Zely & Ritz.

The festival sprung from the work of Doug Jones, farmer extraordinaire of Piedmont Biofarm. He has been creating and growing special peppers designed to thrive in Pittsboro and the Piedmont. He grows about 100 varieties at his farm on the eastern side of Pittsboro, and he wants you to love peppers as much as he does.

“Ripe peppers are an underutilized and under appreciated super food,” Doug says. “They grow exceptionally well in the piedmont of NC, our climate.  We want to develop the consumer demand and increase the growers in our region.  Peppers are exceptionally high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C as well as flavor and phytonutrients.”

There will also be live music by Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes, and Lonnie Walker. Stick around for the crowning of the King and Queen of the festival.  And bring the kids, face-painting and plenty of activities for the whole family.

Pittsboro Pepper Fest proceeds go to the Abundance Foundation and Piedmont Biofarm.

Admission is $20 in advance until Sep 13, $25 until Oct 1st, or $30 at the entrance and includes all-access to food and entertainment. Beverages are cash bar. As always, the Pittsboro Pepper Festival’s screen-printed Limited Edition 2011 t-shirts and posters will be on sale at the festival.

Sponsors include: Briar Chapel, Sanford Construction, WCHL, Sanford Contractors, Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery, openNMS, McKim & Creed,  Burt’s Bees Corporate Investors Mortgage Group, Piedmont Biofuels, Larry’s Beans, Chatham County Economic Development, Bradshaw & Robinson, LLP, JY Visuals, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance,  The Sustainable Agriculture Program, Central Carolina Community College , Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Kinder Soles, Krombach Dunn & Co, PLLC, Garlick and Murray Family Medicine, Weaver Street Realty, Country Farm & Home, Chatham Mills Farmers’ Market, NC Agritourism Networking Association, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Chatham Portables, Eco Products.