Our Story

Our Story

From the invention of tools and machines to crop and soil science, farmers have always operated on the cutting edge of innovation. Farming, at its core, is about harnessing the power of the sun, yet we’ve done little to change how we use the sun.
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As farmers and scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, Fundusol saw the power of a new technology sweeping through agriculture: Agrivoltaics. It has the potential to make farming more affordable. To increase yields and save water. To secure energy independence for every farmer. The problem? Nobody was prioritizing farmers in system design. Systems that capture the most solar energy do not produce the same beneficial growing conditions. Poor system design can even be harmful to crops.
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Fundusol’s mission is to empower farms with solar energy. We leverage data-driven crop modeling, a vast network of experts, and conversations with clients to tailor-make Agrivoltaics systems that integrate seamlessly with their operations. Every farm is different. As a result, no two Fundusol systems are the same.

Meet Our Team

Michael Bendok

Director of Business Development
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Michael has worked with the largest solar engineering, energy consulting, solar project development, and energy finance companies in the United States. After witnessing the energy and agricultural challenges facing farmers during the summers he spent visiting family in a Lebanese farming village, he understood not only the importance of locally produced food and energy to communities, but also the problem solar energy and food production competing for the same land. Michael channels his interests in expanding renewable energy and helping farmers by leading Fundusol’s business development.

Luca Borletti

Director of Software
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Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Luca’s family has long understood the need to make the most of the land around them, and Luca has been passionate about problem-solving his whole life. Today, he is a software engineering expert with wide industry experience whose role at Fundusol centers around developing and maintaining our software and web tools.

Esteban Herrera-Vendrell

Director of Research and Development
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Esteban’s grandparents grew up in rural New Mexico and only ate what they could grow. This gave him an appreciation for the value of farming and the land that we do it on. At Fundusol, he combines this drive along with his modeling skills, developed through years of physics research, to perfect Fundusol’s design software and bring solar to farms all around the country.

Peter Westbrook

Director of Business Operations
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Peter grew up surrounded by struggling farms in Eastern Kansas, and knew that coming to Stanford, he had to help drive positive change. Using his background in statistics, a field in which he is now an MS candidate at Stanford, Peter has helped design an algorithm with roots in real-world data to predict the most likely agricultural outcomes for any photovoltaic system.

Geoffrey Van

Director of Agricultural Science and Operations
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From berries in New Mexico to livestock and mixed vegetable production in Oregon and Washington, Geoffrey has over 7 years of on-farm experience and nearly a decade of experience working directly with farmers and food systems. Geoffrey is committed to small farm viability and the transformative potential of Fundusol’s solar solutions.

Emilien Simonot

Mentor
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Emilien is a global executive with over 15 years of experience and a passion for climate-tech and innovation, currently focused on scaling up agrivoltaics. He has a proven track record in regulatory and technical expertise in energy, including public R&D funding, international business development, start-ups and scale-ups growth, and innovation leadership within and for large corporations. He is the current head of agrivoltaics at Lightsource BP in Europe and the Middle East, and brings this extensive experience to provide valuable advice to Fundusol.

Our Partners

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Stanford’s TomKat Center selected Fundusol as one of Stanford’s leading and most promising energy companies. Beyond the support of a $50,000 grant, the TomKat Center provides Fundusol with a network of advisors composed of the world’s energy leaders.

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Fundusol proudly partners with Okovate Sustainable Energy to accelerate the adoption of crop-integrated agrivoltaics. Combining Okovate’s expertise in APV origination and project development with Fundusol’s advanced Machine Learning-powered design and forecasting, we aim to optimize land use, enhance soil quality, and generate clean energy.

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In addition, Fundusol partners with solar developers across the country, both big and small, to ensure that we can give farmers a range of options to choose from on each project. Two of our most prominent partners in development are DSD Renewables and TRC Companies, both national-scale MW-level developers.

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