Norbut Solar Farms flipped the script on real estate development to long-term stewardship of land, generating renewable energy as well as crops and livestock.
Sheep grazing at the Norbut Farm, protected by a guard llama.
Image: Erika Leigh Moore
David Norbut has thirty years of experience in real estate developer and construction, but ten years ago he flipped the script when Norbut Companies purchased an old dairy farm with the idea of creating what he calls ‘The Farm of Tomorrow.’ As he told pv magazine USA, that farm pairs regenerative farming with solar energy generation, thus supporting working farmers, improving soil and biodiversity, while showing how renewable energy can strengthen, rather than displace, local food systems.”
“Our farm doesn’t choose between food and energy, it produces both,” Norbut said
The four different divisions of the Norbut companies demonstrate its commitment to not only stewarding its own land with solar and storage but helping others to do so. Norbut property holding companies own the land assets and Norbut Solar Farms (NSF) is the development company that focuses on design and engineering, utility interconnection and permitting. NSF EPC provides EPC and O&M services for other developers and operators as well as for Norbut projects. NSF Energy focuses on community solar and energy storage long-term ownership and operation. Lastly, Norbut Farm is the food and agricultural focused part of the company.
To date NSF developed over 500 MW of solar in New York State with 30 MW of storage in the ground and currently has another 103 MW of solar under construction. The company focuses on New York due to the company’s deep knowledge of the state’s regulatory framework and the strength of its community solar market.
What sets Norbut apart from traditional real estate developers is that he doesn’t see stewardship and development as opposites. Stewardship requires long-term, generational thinking, Norbut said, adding that, “in our view, stewardship is what makes development sustainable financially and environmentally.”
Pairing land with agriculture is commonly called agrivoltaics, but Norbut’s approach expands that definition. Traditional agrivoltaics often focuses narrowly on crop yield beneath panels. “Our approach prioritizes long-term land productivity, soil health, along with diverse agricultural use, pollinators and food production,” Norbut said. “This is alongside energy production both inside and outside the fencing, not just under the panels.
For Norbut, the health of the land goes hand in hand with the health of his employees and the community he’s built. It’s to that end that he has a professional chef on staff who makes lunch each day for the company’s employees.  “Having a chef on staff supports our team, reflects our values in a very tangible way, and reinforces the idea that land should nourish people in multiple ways,” Norbut said.
Norbut Farm is a working farm that has 10 MW of solar and 12 MW/h of battery storage. According to Norbut the farm serves as proof of regenerative farming practices that include livestock management, soil restoration, greenhouse gardens, and beekeeping.  They invite people to call for a tour.
Aurelius Solar is a keystone project for Norbut, as it’s the first that NSF EPC took from inception to completion. Located in the town of Aurelius, it consists of 27 MW of community solar across four adjacent sites. Norbut said they learned critical lessons about construction, operations and long-term partnerships. For example, due to high winds in the region, the EPC team developed a mechanism to reinforce the solar racking system, for which they now own a patent.
The Norbut approach flips the traditional script of the real estate developer from brick-and-mortar development and construction to long- term stewardship and ownership of land for generational use. Norbut concluded that, “we began designing projects for 25 plus years, which changes how you think about design and long-term use and the community relationship that you have with land ownership across the state.”
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More articles from Anne Fischer
This shift from real estate development to long-term stewardship, integrating energy, crops, and livestock, is truly inspiring. I’m curious about the initial challenges David Norbut faced transitioning his expertise from construction to this multi-faceted ecological management model.
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