Solar Ecology is Farming

The Story of Solar

For over 10,000 years, the story of solar has been the story of society. Re-configuring the boundaries of energy conversion for the entangled present, solar ecology affects and is affecting our naturecultures as farming. Solar ecology is farming. Solar Ecology offers the tools of energy exploration and local enrichment, within which “light” is the dominant vehicle for change. Solar energy, measured as light, must be addressed as a transformative, transdisciplinary framework for survival and adaptive design and planning. There are new and old opportunities to be accessed in our own locales, our local regimes of natureculture, community, sense of place.

What is Solar Ecology?

In a nutshell, Solar ecology is farming. Solar Ecology traces the dynamic systems framework of discovery and design associated with solar energy conversion technologies like photovoltaics, people, and the spaces they intersect. Solar Ecology attends to light-matter intra-actions diffracted through contexts of locale (regime of place and time that affects and is affected by systems performance), and through the context of stakeholders of the locale who will be affected by the preference for solar goods and services throughout society (i.e. solar utility).

Solar photovoltaics are established global commodities, and solar electricity is being planned at the gigawatt scale internationally, a phenomenal success story. This growth has coincided with a rapid maturation of the solar field, involving a grand opportunity to explore other solar goods and services in the wake of photovoltaic successes. The work of solar ecology discusses solar in transition, moving from a wave of photovoltaic growth as of now, toward major global impacts in the next century. Photovoltaic goods are identified as a bellwether for future opportunities that include integrative “solar” expressed across three existing cultures of design. Solar utility is the vehicle aiding project development in solar ecology, describing takeholders’ preference for solar goods and services fit within the dynamic perspective of the locale. A solar ecology framework will contribute to a shared wave of coupled discoveries, inventions, and social change strongly influencing the food-energy-water nexus by 2100.

Solar Ecology emerges today as a web sustainable adaption planning given a climate changed by 2100. The solar ecology framework has emerged as a new school of thought for research and design at the interface of light, society, and our supporting ecosystems.

Solar photovoltaics are established global commodities, and solar electricity is being planned at the gigawatt scale internationally. This growth has coincided with a rapid maturation of the solar field, involving a grand opportunity to explore other solar goods and services in the wake of photovoltaic successes. The work of solar ecology explores solar in transition, moving from a wave of photovoltaic growth as of now, toward major global food-energy-water impacts in the next century. Solar utility is the vehicle aiding project development in solar ecology, describing stakeholders’ preferences for solar goods and services, fit within the dynamic perspective of the locale. The broader field of solar ecology is an emerging transdisciplinary systems field of solar energy within the context of the environment, society and technology–connecting science with design, business, lifestyle, health, and well-being.

Solar Ecology in the Media

Focus on Research: Solar ecology explores the challenges in solar energy An editorial commentary that I developed to frame solar ecology in 2015. This peice preceded our first all-day workshop on “Solar Ecology: Exploring the Grand Challenges in Solar Energy”, held on Dec. 4, 2015 at the Earth and Mineral Sciences Energy Institute, University Park, PA.

More Info: www.energy.psu.edu/solarchallenge

Frey Brownson, PhD

Jeffrey Brownson (Frey) is a queer solar expert, visual artist, Penn State professor, and industry consultant. Haunting the halls of academia. Partner, Queer Dad, Enby Artist, Photon Wrangler.

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Get Involved

The Big Fab Solar Collab is a feminist anti-colonial collective that works with colleagues, students, and community members to explore Solar Ecology and social change. Interested? We welcome you too.

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Collab Research Overview

We make stuff happen, building something out of nothing, and giving it away. We are a collective group of creative and dedicated students, staff, and a few faculty that are looking to disrupt what it means to do solar!”

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Solar Ecology is Farming

Re-configuring the boundaries of energy conversion for the entangled present, solar ecology affects and is affecting our naturecultures as farming.

2 min read

The Solar Genome Project

The Solar Genome Project (SGP) is a solar non-profit registered in PA (501c3 pending), and functions as an applied extension of the Solar Ecology Program of research.

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