Byron’s Story

Byron Kominek is a steward of his family’s land and is dedicated to teaching his community as well as lawmakers from around the country about the benefits of solar.

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In 2016, Byron moved home to his family’s 24-acre farm in Longmont, Colorado where he wanted to find new ways to sustain their land.

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The farm had been growing and selling hay for about 50 years, but it was no longer paying the bills. Byron looked at new land management options and decided to investigate building a solar array on the property.

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Byron also learned about agrivoltaics – the process of growing crops under solar panels – and thought it may be a viable model for his family to pursue.

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Over the past seven years, Byron has built a solar farm on four acres of land and those panels alone provide power to over 300 homes per year. He also partners with a number of research universities to study the impact of solar on crops and has started a non-profit organization to educate people on the benefits of agrivoltaics.

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Today, Byron’s farm is named after his Grandfather, Jack Stingerie, and he works hard to honor the family’s tradition of hard work and ingenuity in all that he does. Byron’s work ensures that their legacy – and his family’s livelihood – thrives in ways his Grandfather never could have imagined just two generations ago.