Agrivoltaics Creating New Avenues for Fresh Solar Opportunities
One of the most rapidly growing solar development strategies is agrivoltaics. This involves using a single plot of land for both agricultural purposes and solar power generation.
Agrivoltaics Creating New Avenues for Fresh Solar Opportunities
One of the most rapidly growing solar development strategies is agrivoltaics. This involves using a single plot of land for both agricultural purposes and solar power generation. This presents a number of new opportunities for solar developers.
The mixed land use offers financial benefits to PV power plant owners, farmers, and ranchers. Studies have also shown that agrivoltaic operations improve crop yields and more efficient solar PV system performance.
Where Agrivoltaics Work Best
As land-use limits make it harder for developers to find places to put large-scale solar installations, agrivoltaics offer a promising solution. This is a technique where crops or grazing animals and PV panels are mixed together on the same land, which increases the land's profitability because owners can use it as two sources of income.
The study found that the best place to put solar panels is on croplands in the western United States. The land class ranked fifth for improving solar module efficiency was the barren terrains typically selected for large-scale solar PV systems. The researchers found that beyond the initial financial incentives, climate conditions best suited for crops also constitute one of the land classes most ideal for improving solar module efficiency.
The data is encouraging for increasing the adoption of agrivoltaics from a solar industry perspective. But as a relatively new branch of the PV industry, it can be difficult to find the resources or expertise necessary to get started in this burgeoning sector.
The county's first AgriSolar Clearinghouse launched in late 2021. The platform connects farmers, ranchers, land managers, solar developers, and researchers with the aim of building networks for advancing agrivoltaic development. The clearinghouse also features a library of peer-reviewed information, videos, podcasts, news, and a discussion forum.
Additional Environmental Benefits of Agrivoltaics
Even though the dual-land use model of agrivoltaics creates financial benefits, developers and plant owners must measure these gains against the projects’ environmental impact. As interest in agrivoltaics grows, more research is being done on how PV systems and the surrounding agricultural ecosystem interact. Studies have shown that agrivoltaics provides potential benefits for soil health, water quality, stormwater control, and pollinator habitat creation.
Solar panels that move to follow the sun can help protect plants from harsh sunlight and bad weather. A study found that fruit production doubled in an agrivoltaic system (a system with solar panels and crops) compared to a traditional agriculture environment. Another recent study found that sheep grazing at a solar test site improved soil quality by increasing the land’s total carbon storage and available nutrients.
At a macro level, agrivoltaics can improve land productivity by 35-73%. Compared to other methods of using land, agrivoltaics is a more efficient way to use resources. This type of cooperation may be necessary for improving land-use efficiency, climate solutions, sustainable food production, and local economies.
