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CSU wins $60K Pivot Energy grant for climate research
ColoradoBiz Staff //August 20, 2025//
DENVER — Colorado State University has received a $60,000 grant from Pivot Energy to support climate research on dryland ecosystems and solar development in the Desert Southwest.
In Brief:
- CSU awarded $60,000 grant from Pivot Energy
- Funding supports dryland ecosystem and solar research
- Ecovoltaics to pair solar projects with land restoration
- Fieldwork begins in Mesa County in fall 2025
The funding will benefit CSU’s Dryland Ecology and Management Lab in the Warner College of Natural Resources, which studies ways to make dryland ecosystems more resilient to global change.
Pivot Energy’s contribution will advance research into the ecological benefits of pairing solar projects with land restoration, known as ecovoltaics. The work will also provide student training in dryland restoration, research methods and grant writing.
“We are excited to work with Pivot Energy and to embark on a variety of new research opportunities at the nexus of sustainable energy production and restoration ecology,” said Carrie Havrilla, assistant professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship and director of the lab.
Fieldwork will take place at three Pivot solar project sites in Mesa County beginning this fall and continuing through 2027.
Pivot Energy, a Certified B-Corporation, develops and manages solar and energy storage projects nationwide. The company’s agrivoltaics program includes livestock grazing, habitat enhancement and crop production.
CSU, founded in 1870, serves more than 33,000 students and is Colorado’s land-grant university.
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