Agrivoltaics

Learn about agrivoltaics and its benefits. By offering multiple benefits from the same piece of land, agrivoltaics helps us shift from having to choose between solar energy production and agriculture to a more synergistic understanding of land use. By helping to keep local farms alive, agrivoltaics can play a part in maintaining the viability of local economies. Global demand for food is expected to increase by 35 to 56 percent by 2050, while global energy demand is expected to increase by 50 percent in the same period of time. By combining the production of food and energy efficiently, agrivoltaics will be important in meeting both needs. It can lead to ancillary benefits such as increased efficiency in water usage and increased carbon dioxide uptake. Growing crops beneath solar panels have also been shown to increase the efficiency of the panels, especially when combined with smart agrivoltaic systems managed by AI software. The three basic types of agrivoltaic systems are:

• Solar panels next to or above crops or native plants. In agricultural use, this system either alternates between solar panels and crops, or uses the panels to create shade in which to grow shade-tolerant crops. Another major use of agrivoltaic systems is to utilize the space to grow native pollinator plants, helping to mitigate the continuing loss of pollinator habitat.

• Solar panels above land that animals graze. Some ranchers add solar arrays to their pastures to diversify revenue. There are also a growing number of sheep grazers who are contracted out to maintain native pastureland beneath commercial solar arrays. As temperatures rise, solar panels can provide necessary shade for animals and keep them cool and hydrated. This is similar to the role trees play for livestock in silvopasture systems (see Silvopasture Nexus).
• Solar greenhouses. Adding solar panels to a greenhouse can increase energy efficiency on the farm and reduce costs, depending on the type of panels used. With the advent of transparent and semi-transparent solar panels, greenhouses are becoming a major source of on-farm solar energy production. This innovative project in Europe uses a crop-responsive tracking system that adjusts panels to increase yields.

Understand the potential for agrivoltaics in your community. Community Solar Farms is part of a movement to decentralize power distribution and empower local communities. One U.S. study found that more than 80 percent of people would be more likely to support solar arrays in their communities if they were integrated with agriculture. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act has earmarked $7 billion in funding and assistance for small-scale community solar projects.

• Connect with other advocates for agrivoltaics and speak out in your community. Find other people who are interested and knowledgeable in the field of agrivoltaics at places such as the Solar Farm Summit in order to strategize effective ways of bringing this solution to your local farms and communities. Advocacy groups have sprouted up in the U.S., including Solar United Neighbors, which assists individuals and communities in activating solar co-ops and small-scale community solar solutions (see Solar Nexus).

Understand the benefits of agrivoltaics for your farm or ranch. Agrivoltaics offers a diversification strategy to protect against the difficulties of more extreme weather affecting production on the farm. Agrivoltaics also addresses the problems of higher operating costs and increased competition for land.

Implement agrivoltaics into your farm or ranch. Implementing agrivoltaic solutions can be as simple as putting a few solar panels on your farm or ranch in order to use the space to meet your own energy needs, such as power for irrigation, electricity, and electric tractors and equipment.

• The U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has put out this guide for farmers who want to incorporate agrivoltaics on their farms.
• Many solar companies, such as Blue Wave in the U.S. and Sun’Agri in Europe, focus on helping farmers implement agrivoltaics. Since it is a win-win for both the farmer and the solar company, many solar installers will be eager to help in the process.

Diversify revenue streams. Moving toward a global emphasis on sustainable agriculture will require that the economic needs of small farmers be consistently met. As recognized by this bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate, utilizing agrivoltaics to diversify revenue streams will help ensure a future for farms and ranches in a changing climate. Here are five examples, ranging from grazing to viticulture, that exemplify the benefits of agrivoltaics to diversify revenue streams on the farm.

• Japan, an early adopter and global leader in small-scale agrivoltaic solutions, is optimizing the use of limited agricultural land with sustainable practices that benefit farmers.
• In Kenya, agrivoltaics are helping rural farmers increase their incomes while providing their communities with much-needed energy. This can be a key development in helping rural communities in Africa become more self-sufficient.

Optimize land use. Agrivoltaics not only can provide economic benefits to farmers but can help them shift agriculture to a more sustainable and ecologically friendly institution.

• Founded by sheep farmers who became solar grazers, the American Solar Grazing Association works to facilitate research, outline best practices, and connect sheep farmers and solar array owners who need vegetation management services.
• Vineyards, which are water-intensive, can benefit from agrivoltaic installations. This research project in southern France found a 12–34 percent decrease in water usage, while vines that would normally be stressed by sunlight in a drought continued to grow in the shade of the solar panels.
• Many agrivoltaic projects utilize the space around the solar arrays to grow wildflower and pollinator meadows that benefit the ecosystem and nearby farms. Pollinator agrivoltaics are playing an increasingly large role in solar farm projects and land reclamation projects.
• Responsible and careful use of water is a core issue for any farm, and research has shown that agrivoltaic installation reduces water usage by significantly reducing soil water evaporation. One study showed an increase in crop yield with a reduction in water usage.

Take advantage of government incentives for installing solar on your land. Governments across the world have committed to helping farmers and landholders install agrivoltaic systems. Australia and the U.S. have funding and financing opportunities, Germany and France have instituted successful incentive structures, and Italy and Japan both offer rebates and grants for agrivoltaic projects. The $1 billion REAP program in the U.S. focuses on funding and rebates for ranchers and farmers who want to install agrivoltaic systems. Reach out to your local or national government agencies for help.

Dedicate a portion of your business to working with agrivoltaics. The agrivoltaic market is growing every year and is estimated to be valued at $9.3 billion by 2031. By engaging in agrivoltaic projects, companies can actively help protect farmland and ecosystems while furthering the production of renewable energy. While large companies can include agrivoltaic projects in their portfolio, there is market space for small companies, such as this one in the U.S., which can focus solely on agrivoltaics.

• At Silicon Ranch, they are focusing on regenerative energy in an effort to make solar energy not just about producing energy, but about healing ecosystems and improving land stewardship.
• Blue Wave Solar has developed over thirty dual-use projects, which include energy production, storage, social impact, and environmental restoration.
• Based in France, Akuo Energy implements agrivoltaic projects around the world, including this one in New Caledonia.
• BayWa, in Germany, is a leader in agrivoltaic installation and management, including these pilot projects that combine solar and fruit production and those that focus on sheep grazing.
• The French company Sun’Agri focuses on the use of agrivoltaics to help farmers mitigate the negative effects of climate change on their farms.

Agrivoltaics at Jack's Solar Garden by Byron Kominek @ Jack's Solar Garden (4 mins.)

NREL’s Agrivoltaic Research by National Renewable Energy Laboratory - NREL( 2 mins.)

How Solar Panels Are Changing Agriculture - Agrivoltaics Revisited by Undecided with Matt Ferrell (13 mins.)

Agrivoltaics: An Economic Lifeline for American Farmers? by Just Have a Think (15 mins.)

How Agrivoltaic Farming Can Help Solve Our Food and Energy Crisis by Down On The Farm (9 mins.)

Why We Should Be Putting Solar Panels on Our Fields and Lakes by DW Planet A (15 mins.)

Solar Energy Advancements in Agriculture and Food Production Systems edited by Shiva Gorjian and Elia Campana / Elsevier

Agrivoltaics: A Sustainable Integration of Solar Energy and Agriculture by Guiseppe Saturno

Agrivoltaics: Discover the Future of Sustainable Farming by Hugh Webb

Sheep + Solar, a Love Story by How to Save a Planet (31 min.)

A Rosy Future for Agrivoltaics by Factor This! Podcast (50 min.)

Agrivoltaics: The Future of Farming & Renewable Energy by Rewildology (13 min.)

Agrivoltaics: Synergistic Production of Food and Energy by The Smarter Podcast (22 min.)