AGRIVOLTAICS

Sheep graze on a green field under solar panels with farm buildings in the background.

The pairing of solar panels (photovoltaics) with agriculture, Agrivoltaics, increases land value by adding another source of income to existing land use. The pairing of solar panels with agriculture not only increases income and land values but is quickly becoming a strategy for states to meet their climate and energy goals. Agricultural land used for growing crops, animal grazing, and farmsteads/farm roads accounts for about 43% of the total land in the lower 48 states. Agrivoltaics can create a win-win scenario by offering a unique opportunity to address multiple state priorities simultaneously, including clean energy generation, sustainable agriculture, economic growth, and climate resilience.

THREE MAIN TYPES OF AGRIVOLTAICS

Elevated systems place solar panels directly above vegetation, usually elevated by at least 6 feet. Elevated systems can protect vegetation from extreme weather such as heavy rains and drought and can reduce sun exposure. Crops such as berries, grapes, and apples can be found in elevated systems.

Inter-row systems, vegetation is grown between rows of solar panels rather than beneath them. Typically, inter-row systems do not provide the same level of protection against extreme weather, but crops usually have more access to direct sunlight than in elevated systems. Rows of panels can be spaced out widely enough to allow tractors and other equipment to cultivate vegetation in between. Crops such as grasses, grains, and hardy vegetables (e.g., kale and broccoli) can be found in inter-row systems.

Finally, a combination of Elevated systems and Inter-row systems can provide areas for Beekeeping, livestock grazing, as well as habitat restoration.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRIVOLTAICS

Climate change has caused unprecedented warming, varying precipitation patterns, and higher risks of drought and wildfires. These impacts threaten agriculture, natural resources, and human health. Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy can reduce carbon emissions and slow the effects of climate change. Agrivoltaics can play a major role in the endeavor to reduce greenhouse emissions by transitioning farm space to dual use, photo-voltaics, and farming. Agrivoltaics could provide an energy and agricultural solution. A recent Oregon State University study found that converting less than 1% of U.S. agricultural land to agrivoltaics could meet 20% of the country’s energy need. Although traditional solar project sites can compete with agricultural land for space and contribute to land-use conversion, agrivoltaics could help the transition to renewable energy while minimizing impacts to agriculture and agricultural land.

PROS AND CONS

PROS

In addition to mitigating carbon emissions and reducing solar siting conflicts, agrivoltaic systems have the potential to:

Reduce energy costs for producers. The electricity generated by solar panels can be used to power farm operations, which can reduce energy costs. Plants also help to cool solar panels, improving power generation. Farms can become net producers of electricity instead of users.
Increase farm income. Producers can continue to grow crops while harnessing solar power to meet their own energy needs. In some cases, panels may generate enough energy to sell the excess back to the grid, increasing and stabilizing farm income.
Improve crop resilience: The shade provided by solar panels can help protect some crops from the impacts of extreme heat and drought.
Improve water-use efficiency: The shade provided by agrivoltaic systems can reduce water demands for some crops and vegetation. Agrivoltaic systems have the potential to improve productivity in dryland farming by reducing water demands.
Create grazing land opportunities: Sheep and chickens can graze around and beneath solar panels, ensuring that plants do not shade panels. In return, panels offer shade for grazing animals.
Improve pollinator habitat. Solar sites can provide forage for native pollinators and honeybees. Partial shading by solar panels can also delay blooms and increase floral abundance during the late summer season, when traditional pollinator forage is less available. Agrivoltaic sites can also be used for beekeeping.
Reduce farm workers’ exposure to extreme heat. In agrivoltaic systems, farm workers can work and rest in the shade of solar panels.

CONS

A number of existing challenges need to be addressed to make agrivoltaics a more widespread and adoptable practice. These include:

Restrictions on land use: Several states have placed restrictions on commercial solar development to protect farmlands with high-value soil from development. Three states do not have net-metering; these states could share costs and electricity in Community Solar development. And, for example, Oregon only allows for 20-acre agrivoltaic developments on farmland.
Cost: Agrivoltaic solar panels are more costly than traditional solar panels, as they can require additional settings, space, and other specializations. However, the energy generated by solar panels can help to offset these costs over time.
Meticulous design: The design of agrivoltaic systems needs to be carefully considered to maximize benefits and minimize drawbacks. For example, agrivoltaics may not work in areas that do not receive a lot of sunlight, or with crops that require a lot of direct sunlight.
Cultivation considerations: Crops do not always respond predictably to agrivoltaic settings. Producers may have to experiment with crops and reseeding to achieve desired results.
Impacts to soil quality: Installation of solar panels can cause soil compaction and reduce soil quality. However, innovations in installation methods and soil decompaction after installation can improve conditions.

In summary, Agrivoltaics are to rural areas as Microgrids are to urban areas. The largest challenge facing Argrivoltaics is interconnection queues. Utilities and regional grid operators require projects seeking to connect to the grid to undergo a series of studies before they can be built. This process identifies any necessary grid system upgrades before a project can connect to the system, estimates the costs of that equipment, and assigns them accordingly. Much of the information contained herein is taken from an oft-referenced document prepared by MPDI. The lists of projects that have applied to connect to the grid and initiated this study process are known as interconnection queues. As of the end of 2023, there were nearly 12,000 projects actively seeking grid interconnection across the U.S., representing 1,570 GW of generation and approximately 1,030 GW of storage.

The document is a peer-reviewed science article on Agrivoltaics in Oregon, exploring the integration of solar energy production with agricultural practices to enhance sustainability and land-use efficiency.

Agrivoltaic systems present a promising solution for sustainable food production and renewable energy generation.
They maximize land productivity while enhancing economic resilience and environmental sustainability.
Benefits include improved crop yields, reduced water demand, and financial stability for farmers.
Challenges such as grid interconnection and regulatory barriers need to be addressed for successful implementation.
Ongoing research and community engagement are vital for optimizing Agrivoltaic systems and overcoming misconceptions.

Agrivoltaics could be as instrumental as Microgrids in building resilience, decarbonizing the atmosphere, and stabilizing the climate. The greatest challenge is arbitrary, as the conflicting interests of public utility monopolies lead to over-regulation of interconnection to the macrogrid. Another solution would be for the Federal Government to mandate net-metering at a cost equal to what the utility companies charge minus 2 cents for transmission and distribution costs. Or, the Feds could offer loans to private interest groups for funding a smart grid. Money could be made at a 2-cent charge for transmission, and the loans repaid.

Another method to end the interconnection regulatory challenge to Agrivoltaics would be for data centers to build on low-quality farmland, then use and store the excess electricity generated by Agrivoltaics to eliminate the need to interconnect to the macrogrid. Noise tests, regarding the impact to plants, would be required to determine the extent of mitigation.