Crops and Kilowatts: Mixed Use Land Development

Agrivoltaics is a system of land utilization that combines agricultural and solar energy production on the same land, enabling a "double harvest" of food and electricity. This approach helps address several concerns, including rising demands for renewable energy, supports sustainable food systems, and conserves land and water resources. Agrivoltaic systems can range from crops grown under elevated solar panels to livestock grazing within solar installations (look out for another article soon about how farmers from NC implement these practices!) With hundreds of sites already established across the United States. Agrivoltaic systems aim to make agriculture and solar energy complementary rather than competitive, diversifying farm income and potentially reducing land-use conflicts. By de-mystifying some of these terms and practices through articles like this one, the practice of agrivoltaics can become more commonplace than daunting.

While agrivoltaics offers significant benefits such as increased land productivity, enhanced solar panel efficiency due to plant transpiration, and the creation of pollinator habitats and improved stormwater management, it also faces notable challenges. However, ongoing extensive research, including projects led by the USDA and NREL, is dedicated to understanding viability, optimizing performance, and exploring the integration of technologies such as machine learning for data analysis and system optimization. This commitment to innovation underscores the potential for future improvements in agrivoltaics.

Various configurations of photovoltaic systems exist, including rows of solar arrays with crops between them, tall-rack systems with crops underneath, and integrated greenhouse solar arrays. These systems can also incorporate animal husbandry or beekeeping. The benefit of agrivoltaics or photovoltaics at large is the adaptability: whether it’s bus stations, farm arrays, windows with solar cells, or even those on your house. Solar energy production doesn’t have to occur as a standalone method of energy production. Conservation organizations actively support agrivoltaics as a strategy to combat climate change, reduce emissions, and prevent the conversion of agricultural land for development. Successful implementation, which requires collaboration between farmers, land managers, and solar developers, invites everyone to be part of the solution, finding mutually beneficial solutions that align with community values and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Works Consulted

(1) US Department of Energy. Energy.gov. Energy.gov. https://www.energy.gov. 

(2) Mackinack, J. Agrivoltaics | Solar Market Research & Analysis | NREL. Nrel.gov.

https://www.nrel.gov/solar/market-research-analysis/agrivoltaics. 

(3) Widmer, J.; Christ, B.; Grenz, J.; Norgrove, L. Agrivoltaics, a Promising New Tool for

Electricity and Food Production: A Systematic Review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2024, 192, 114277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.114277. 

(4) Sustainable Farm Agrivoltaic. College of Agricultural Sciences. 

https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/newsroom/sustainable-farm-agrivoltaic.