HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – A pollinator program at James Madison University is now certified as as a “Smart Solar” operation by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

JMU is the first public university in Virginia to receive the certification. The 310-kilowatt solar array is built on the East Campus hillside, with a variety of native pollinators planted alongside the panels.

According to Renee Hypes, an Environmental Coordinator with the DCR, the plants help the solar panels reach their max potential by regulating their temperature.

“That is important from an economic perspective in terms of this maximizing the energy it can produce, because as hot as it is, you get over a certain temperature and the panels start losing capacity to produce energy,” Hypes said.

The pollinators planted on the hillside include native grasses such blue stem and side oat, and wildflowers such as spider wart and milkweed.