Agrivoltaics is the practice of combining agricultural land use with solar panel installations, allowing both to operate on the same land. Solar farms can be very off-putting to landowners who still find use for their land in other agricultural ways. Agrivoltaics bridges the gap between energy developers looking for land and landowners looking for more income.
Key Takeaways:
Optimized Land Utilization: Agrivoltaics allows simultaneous agricultural use and solar energy production, maximizing land potential.
Economic Advantages: Offers landowners a substantial income boost through solar leasing without disrupting agricultural activities.
Sustainability and Efficiency: Reduces energy costs and water usage, contributing to more sustainable farming practices.
Environmental Impact: Helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions and enhances soil quality, supporting climate change goals.
Diverse Applications: Suitable for various agricultural practices, including crop cultivation and livestock management, enhancing versatility and adaptation.
The U.S. Department of Energy is advancing solar and agricultural integration through its InSPIRE program, managed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This initiative aims to enhance the synergy between solar energy, agriculture, and natural landscapes, with 22 project sites across the U.S.
In the Northeast, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is examining how combining solar panels with farming operations can guide decision-making for farmers and communities. Cornell University is investigating the impact of pollinator-friendly plantings on solar farms and exploring how sheep grazing might affect pollinator habitats and soil carbon levels.
Rutgers University is testing agrivoltaic systems under New Jersey's Dual-use Solar Act, which supports farmers in implementing these systems. Meanwhile, the University of Vermont's Center for Sustainable Agriculture is focusing on solar grazing, addressing challenges, and developing strategies for integrating solar energy within Vermont's agricultural framework. These efforts collectively aim to maximize the benefits of solar and agricultural co-location.
Benefits of Agrivoltaics
The combination of solar and agriculture makes a lot of sense! Land used for agriculture tends to be a lot of acres. Large properties are exactly what solar developers are looking for.
Agrivoltaics Offset Energy Costs
Agricultural operations often require significant energy inputs, particularly for irrigation systems and other farm equipment. By using solar energy to power these systems, landowners can reduce their energy costs and increase their profitability. Additionally, solar panels can help to offset the energy costs of the landowner's home or other buildings on the property.
Determining the value of land for solar generation can be tricky if you don’t have the right tools. LandGate offers landowners free land evaluations that provide data and value information for renewable energy and other resources. Get a free property report to uncover your property's estimated value for a solar lease:
Agrivoltaics Reduce Water Usage
But how does agrivoltaics work? The design of agrivoltaics is to have solar panels and crops coexist. This helps to provide opportunities for easier crop growth with energy production. In the United States, solar panels can be built to leave enough space for crops to grow at varying heights. This is called solar racking and helps reduce water usage!
The reduction in water usage comes from the shading provided by the solar panels above the crops. It reduces the evaporation rates which leads to lower water usage and increased crop yields. Places in the U.S. that could benefit from agrivoltaics would be areas where water is scarce or subject to regulatory restrictions.
Agrivoltaics Reduce Greenhouse Gasses
As we move toward a more sustainable future, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical. Agrivoltaics can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing a renewable source of energy and reducing the need for fossil fuel-powered equipment. By combining agriculture and solar energy production, landowners can contribute to the fight against climate change. While also improving their agricultural practices.
Landowners can Increase Income with Agrivoltaics
By leasing their land for solar panel installations, landowners can generate additional income. This is without sacrificing the use of their land for agricultural purposes. Depending on the size of the solar installation, landowners can earn significant revenue from leasing their land for solar projects. Read below some success stories of agrivoltaics solar farms!
Case Study: Agrivoltaics in Texas - Success Stories of Landon Terry and JR Howard
Agrivoltaics, the dual-use practice of combining solar power generation with agriculture, is gaining traction in Texas. This case study highlights the successful integration of sheep grazing on solar farms by two pioneering farmers, Landon Terry and JR Howard.
Landon Terry's Journey
Background: Landon Terry manages 277 sheep on a 1,800-acre solar farm in Haskell County, transitioning from traditional cattle farming to agrivoltaics in 2020.
Challenges: Adapting to new land use and managing vegetation without diesel mowers.
Solutions: Sheep grazing on native grasses to keep vegetation low, avoiding the shading of solar panels.
Outcomes: Cost-effective vegetation management, job creation, and soil enrichment through sustainable practices.
JR Howard and Texas Solar Sheep
Background: JR Howard runs Texas Solar Sheep in Lamar County, initially starting with 300 ewes in 2020 and expanding to over 5,000.
Challenges: Scaling operations for large solar sites and building trust with developers.
Solutions: Utilizing resources from ASGA and a grant from AFT, Howard implemented a rotational grazing program.
Outcomes: Improved soil quality, reduced operational costs, and economic support for local communities. Howard's expertise is now highly sought after.
The experiences of Landon Terry and JR Howard demonstrate the practical application and benefits of agrivoltaics in Texas, offering a sustainable solution that supports both agriculture and renewable energy.
Agrivoltaics Improves Quality of Soil
A solar lease can lead to a great passive income situation for landowners whose main source of income is agricultural. Agrivoltaics can help reduce water usage but also help improve soil health which is major for agricultural productivity. Maintaining healthy soil requires a delicate balance of water, nutrients, and microorganisms.
The shading provided by solar panels can help maintain soil moisture levels. This can lead to healthier soil and increased crop yields. Additionally, the panels can help to protect soil from erosion caused by wind or rain.
Locating solar potential in certain areas is easy to do with LandGate. Landowners can locate their parcel to discover their potential for a solar farm. From there landowners can list their land on LandGate’s free marketplace. This will help get their land in front of energy developers easily.
Increase in Solar Energy Production With Agrivoltaics
Due to the microclimates created through combining agricultural and solar panels, temperatures drop between the solar panels and the crops around them. This makes it easier to grow certain crops. But this also leads to an overall increase in solar panel efficiency since the solar panels are not overheating as much.
Within these microclimates, water evaporating from the soil will rise to the solar panels. This water cools down the solar panels making them work more efficiently. When solar panels overheat they do not generate as much energy as they could. If a landowner doesn’t grow crops but has water on the land, like a canal, they could put panels above those canals and get the same response!
How Large are Agrivoltaic Solar Farms
Agrivoltaics may be used in a wide variety of settings and can range in acreage size. Solar panels may be combined with agriculture at a utility scale, community setting, or even on private property. The impact of agrivoltaics and its benefits may be felt amongst rural economies and as a safe nationwide practice. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), there are a few different utility-scale configurations that can benefit different types of land usage:
Crop Production
Animal Husbandry
Ecosystem Services
Greenhouse Solar
Crop production is the most common configuration where crops are grown in between or underneath the rows of solar panels. The height of the solar panels can be adjusted to the needs of the agricultural land. Whether it's to make room for tall crops or farm equipment like tractors.
Animal husbandry allows for grazing animals between and underneath the panels that will help maintain the landscape without the use of tractors. The most common animals used for this type of system are sheep, cattle, poultry, honey bees, and rabbits. Even landowners without animals on their property can participate in this type of system. All they need to do is bring in animals when needed to avoid using equipment to maintain the land.
Ecosystem services where the vegetation grows freely beneath or between the solar panels. Normally this system is used to restore habitats or improve soil quality. The categories for ecosystem services:
Supporting: soil formation and biodiversity
Provisioning: clean water, food, and things like timber and fiber
Regulating: carbon sequestration and flood control
Cultural: recreation or aesthetic
Greenhouse solar are panels that are installed on top of greenhouses. These are a bit unique as panels can be transparent, semi-transparent, or opaque solar panels. So the landowner can choose which type of panel sits on the roof of the greenhouse.
Agrivoltaics can provide significant benefits for landowners, including increased income, reduced energy costs, improved water and soil management, and climate change mitigation. As the technology continues to improve and become more widespread, it has the potential to revolutionize the way we think about land use and energy production.
