BeltLine Farm Getting City-Funded Solar Array

An urban farm along the coveted BeltLine is about to go off the grid.

The City of Atlanta is slated to purchase and install a solar panel array at Aluma Farm, a city-owned urban farm that is harvesting its first growing season using all of its land since it was transformed from a blighted industrial property in 2015. City officials have filed permits to build the array, almost two weeks after the city approved building the system.

The goal is to push the BeltLine's first urban farm, a 3.8-acre site between Allene and University avenues along the Westide leg of the BeltLine at Adair Park, to no longer pull power from the public utility. The panel, which will be installed in late September, is expected to generate 2.8 kilowatts, according to officials.

Part of the power will be used for refrigeration, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. spokesperson Jenny Odom said.

According to permits, the solar system will cost $140K. But city officials say that a rebate from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority for $50K is covering a lot of the cost.

While publicly owned, Aluma Farm is leased out to a team of independent farmers who grow food to sell both to the public on Thursday evenings at the farm and to nearby restaurants. The farm operators, Andy Friedburg and Andrea Ness, were selected by Atlanta BeltLine to operate the farm in 2015 under a five-year contract. Freidburg did not reply to emails seeking comment on the solar array.

“As the Westside Trail construction continues, options for inexpensive, locally-grown produce remain rare in southwest Atlanta,” Aluma Farm officials said on their website.“Aluma Farm can help to supply fresh produce to neighborhoods with limited options for groceries.”

Odom said the Adair park urban farm will likely not be the last along the 22-mile stretch of BeltLine path.

"We have spaces around the BeltLine that could be used for other farming opportunities," she said. "But we do not have the next space identified yet."