On August 6 and 7, the Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA), the Center for Future Work Places and Practices (CFWPP), and the Power and Energy Center (PEC) at Virginia Tech will be hosting a workshop on Advancing Agriphotovoltaics (APV) in Virginia.

The workshop will bring together industry leaders, policy makers, agricultural professionals, and other key stakeholders to:​

• Establish a network to support APV advancement in Virginia,​
• Develop collaborative strategies for supporting APV during the renewable energy transition, and​
• Explore opportunities and challenges in APV identified by diverse stakeholder perspectives​.

The following panels will be held on August 6 to inform a series of facilitated group discussions on August 7.

Agriculture Panel (Moderator: Prof. John Fike, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, VT)

• Eric Paulson, Executive Secretary of the Virginia State Dairymen’s Association (VSDA).
• Meredith Ledlie Johnson, Policy Systems and Environmental Change Programming Manger, Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE).
• Jim Riddell, Government Affairs Specialist, consultant, and representative of the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.

Solar Developers Panel (Moderator: Prof. Ralph Hall, School of Public and International Affairs, VT)

• Lauren Wheeler, GIS Analyst for the Timmons Group in the Energy and Renewables practice and leads the Virginia permitting team.
• Iain Ward, Founder and CEO of Solar Agricultural Services, Inc. (SolAg).
• Jesse Robertson-DuBois, Director, Sustainable Solar Development, BlueWave.
• Katie Hill, Director of Environmental Compliance at Strata Clean Energy.

Utilities Panel (Moderator: Nam Nguyen, Executive Director, VTES)

• Tyler Schwartz, Senior Key Account Manager, Appalachian Power.
• Geovanni Castano Cerpa, Technology Advisor for Dominion Energy.
• Karan Patel, Managing Director for Clean Energy and Energy Solutions, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

Policy Panel (Moderator: John Ignosh, Senior Extension Specialist, Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech)

• Dana Ashford, Acting Director of USDA-NRCS Ecological Sciences Division.
• Aaron Berryhill, Solar Program Manager, Virginia Department of Energy.
• Samantha Levy, Conservation and Climate Policy Manager, American Farmland Trust.
• Carrie Hearne, Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

The workshop is made possible by funding received from 4-VA.