Solar farming: cultivating sustainability with agrivoltaics

To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, 10.4 million acres of space will be needed to boost solar production to an incredible 45% of our nation’s energy supply, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Models developed by the American Farmland Trust (AFT) found that 83% of this new solar development will be on agricultural land, with nearly half of it taking place on “nationally significant” farmland, characterized for its high productivity, versatility, and resiliency. 

While traditional solar farms are sometimes seen as a threat to farming landscapes, agrivoltaics — the dual use of land for solar energy production and agriculture — offers a promising solution for both to peacefully coexist. Agrivoltaics optimizes land use and sustainability, benefiting farmers, solar developers, and ecosystems alike. 

This blog will cover the advantages of agrivoltaics, the various types of agrivoltaic systems, prominent projects across the U.S., information surrounding available funding opportunities, and how to design an agrivoltaic system. 

Agrivoltaics: integrating solar energy with agriculture 

Agrivoltaics is the practice of using the same land for both solar energy production and agricultural activities, such as crop cultivation, animal grazing, and growing pollinator-friendly plants. This innovative dual-use approach helps resolve land-use conflicts by allowing solar panels and farming to exist together harmoniously. 

Traditional solar development views land with vegetation as a hindrance that could shade the panels, necessitating regular mowing or the use of chemical treatments to keep the grass at bay. Instead, agrivoltaics opportunistically raises the solar panels to have vegetation underneath, resulting in lower maintenance costs and improved panel efficiency to maximize clean energy production. 

Typically, agrivoltaic systems are smaller than commercial solar farms, with 70% having a capacity of less than 5 MW, although sizes can range from less than 0.01 MW to as large as 660 MW. For a detailed overview of agrivoltaic projects across the United States, visit this map by NREL’s InSPIRE Research, which includes over 500 agrivoltaic sites. 

Why choose agrivoltaics?

Agrivoltaics offers a practical solution for accelerating renewable energy development while minimizing land-use conflicts. Agrivoltaics also comes with a wide range of benefits for the solar developers, farmers, and the surrounding ecosystem. 

For instance, agrivoltaics installations give partial shade for plants, animals, and farm workers, protecting them from extreme weather. This ideal microclimate boosts crop yields and reduces the amount of irrigation required, saving farmers money. In return, the plants can help cool the solar panels — enhancing efficiency and energy output. 

Agrivoltaics also makes productive use of the space underneath panels and between the rows that would have otherwise gone unused. Farmers can earn extra income with solar grazing, where their sheep and goats help maintain solar sites by preventing overgrowth and shading around the panels. This is in addition to the attractive energy leases they receive for their land. 

Here are some key advantages of agrivoltaics, highlighting the mutually beneficial relationship between solar panels and vegetation: 

• Enhanced biodiversity: Supports pollinator habitats and provides excellent habitat for plants and animals. 
• Economic benefits for farmers: Energy leases create additional revenue streams for farmers, offering a stable income of thousands of dollars per acre annually. 
• Enhanced solar production: Hot temperatures can reduce solar panel efficiency by 10-25%, especially above 95°F. With agrivoltaics, the native vegetation underneath the panels creates a cooler microclimate to produce higher efficiencies and more clean energy.
• Increased crop yields: The shade from solar panels allows plants to maintain photosynthesis during hot midday hours, improving crop yields. 
• Reduced water usage: The partial shade from solar panels lowers soil temperature, reducing evaporation, and potentially cutting irrigation needs by up to 50%. 
• Crop protection: Agrivoltaic systems shield crops from severe weather, including extreme heat, drought, hail, and high winds.
• Improved soil health: Agrivoltaics help rejuvenate the soil by retaining more moisture, reducing erosion, and increasing food production. 

For more benefits (and to see some adorable pictures of sheep and goats), check out our other related blog, “Agrivoltaics: The GOAT of solar projects?”. 

Types of agrivoltaic systems

As of 2024, most agrivoltaic systems feature grasses — often native — or pollinator-friendly vegetation beneath the solar panels. Sheep grazing is also common, occurring at over a quarter of all agrivoltaic sites to help maintain the grounds, while less than 5% include crops like fruits and vegetables.

Below are the three main types of agrivoltaic systems:

Pollinator-friendly systems 

These solar farms are planted with native grasses and pollinator plants. A significant portion of these sites, 84%, are located in the Midwest, with 52% in Minnesota alone.

Grazing systems

Livestock, mainly sheep, graze under the solar panels, providing farmers with additional income while reducing maintenance costs for solar companies. Cattle can also graze under specially designed solar arrays, though this requires additional engineering to accommodate their large size. 

Crop production systems

These agrivoltaic systems involve growing specialty crops, like blueberries, jalapeno peppers, and cherry tomatoes, under the solar arrays. This type of agrivoltaic system is the least common and is mostly designated for research. 

Challenges and considerations 

Despite the overwhelming benefits of agrivoltaics, there are also some challenges to consider. 

For example, the solar panels’ height and configuration must be customized to reduce shading and crop yield impact and accommodate large livestock and farming equipment like tractors. Solar panels must be elevated at least six feet above the ground, compared to the usual three feet, necessitating deeper holes for the support poles and stronger support braces to withstand high winds. This extra engineering drives up the initial costs of agrivoltaic systems. 

Additionally, logistical issues such as ensuring adequate water supply and managing the transportation of animals between agrivoltaic sites require careful planning. 

Community opposition can be another obstacle, as some residents may object to solar farms for aesthetic reasons like disrupting their natural landscape. However, surveys conducted in rural America revealed that 82% of respondents would be more inclined to support solar projects in their community if they included farming. 

Land use and policy implications are also significant considerations. Solar developers often target prime farmland, which can increase land prices, making it more difficult for young farmers to access land. However, policy changes, like those in Colorado that offer tax exemptions and grants, can encourage agrivoltaic adoption, while other policies that classify solar sites as commercial properties could discourage its growth since farmers would lose their critical agricultural exemptions.

Despite these challenges, the potential for increased revenue and sustainable land use makes agrivoltaics an attractive option for many.

Agrivoltaics in action: commercial sites and case studies

Jack’s Solar Garden in Colorado

Jack’s Solar Garden is a pioneering example of agrivoltaics, uniquely integrating pollinator plants, crops, and livestock grazing on a 5-acre community site in Boulder County, Colorado. This agrivoltaic site features approximately 3,200 solar panels with a generating capacity of 1.2 MW — enough to power 200 to 300 homes annually. 

Jack’s Solar Garden partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona to establish vegetative cover beneath the solar panels. At least 15 different crop varieties are grown at the site, including everything from salad greens to root vegetables. Accompanying research will be used to assess the impact of solar installations on agricultural production and environmental outcomes. 

Aurora Solar plant by Enel Green Power in Minnesota 

The 150 MW Aurora Solar plant, operated by Enel Green Power, is a utility-scale agrivoltaics project using sheep for vegetation management across 16 various solar installations. The sheep are used to manage the grounds and fertilize the native and pollinator-friendly vegetation.

Enel Green Power has joined forces with NREL’s InSPIRE research project to study the benefits of flowering habitats for the ecosystem, such as local bees and birds, at the site’s low-growing meadows.

BlueWave Solar’s blueberry farm in Maine 

In 2021, BlueWave Solar launched a flagship agrivoltaics project on a 12-acre wild blueberry farm in Rockport, Maine — the state’s first dual-use solar initiative. This 4.2 MW project features over 10,000 solar panels and was the largest agrivoltaic crop site in the U.S. as of 2022.

Unlike most agrivoltaic sites, which primarily focus on grazing and pollinator-friendly vegetation, this site harvests blueberries. Specialty crops like blueberries have higher revenues, making them more economically feasible within a crop production agrivoltaic system. 

BlueWave Solar’s project aims to assess the technical and commercial viability of farming blueberries within an agrivoltaic system. One main focus will be determining whether raising the height of the panels from eight to ten feet will prove cost-effective in the long run. This project is also studying the soil quality, moisture content, and crop production to refine the photovoltaic design for future blueberry harvesting.

Available funding for agrivoltaic projects 

Agrivoltaic systems are still a developing technology that has yet to reach widespread adoption. However, there is growing interest in the public and private domain funding research and development to help commercialize this novel concept. Researchers continue to explore optimal designs for combining energy and food production, studying microclimate benefits like increased soil moisture, lower water demand, and better crop performance.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allocated $10 million for agrivoltaics research through its National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), followed by an additional $2.2 million in 2022 through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. In 2022, the U.S. DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) launched the Foundational Agrivoltaics Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) funding opportunity, dedicating $8 million to support projects investigating how to scale agrivoltaics to provide new economic opportunities to farmers, rural communities, and solar developers. Another federal program, the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), provides up to $1 million in grants for rural small businesses and agricultural producers installing renewable energy systems such as agrivoltaics. 

Several state and local programs support agrivoltaics, notably New York and Massachusetts. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently announced a $5 million grant to fund agrivoltaic projects in The Empire State. Another state program, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART), offers a $0.06/kWh incentive for agrivoltaic projects as an Agricultural Solar Tariff Generation Unit (ASTGU).  

The future of agrivoltaics

Potential growth areas for agrivoltaics include expansion into new regions and crop types, as well as integration with other renewable energy and sustainable agriculture technologies. Numerous agrivoltaic startups are also pushing the limits of agrivoltaic design.

One revolutionary solar design includes vertical bifacial solar arrays, aiming to be more land-efficient and allow solar energy production to coexist more easily with traditional farming. These vertical arrays can capture more energy by producing power during peak demand times in the morning and evening. Although more expensive, they offer increased energy output and reduced maintenance due to less dust and snow accumulation. This vertical design is especially useful where land is expensive and space is limited. 
Another example of creative agrivoltaic design is insolagrin, which uses translucent solar modules with light transmission control to maximize crop growth. This system replaces traditional greenhouses and opens crop production to larger areas. An essential aspect of the solution includes a control system and tracker algorithm that maximizes both crop production and electricity generation.

Design your agrivoltaic project with ease 

As the U.S. pushes for net zero, agrivoltaics offer a viable solution, balancing the need for solar development with the preservation of vital farmland. This dual-use system provides numerous benefits, including enhanced biodiversity, economic advantages for farmers, increased solar efficiency, and improved crop yields. Supportive policies and ongoing innovation are essential to realize the full potential of agrivoltaics and create a sustainable and decarbonized future.

For more information, schedule a free demo of Helioscope’s user-friendly solar platform to design your own agrivoltaic project and reap the rewards of a true solar farm.

Featured photo by Francesco Gallarotti