4 Things To Know About Agrivoltaics

What is Agrivoltaics? 

Agrivoltaics is the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy production. Solar panels provide shade for plants, which cools them and helps them retain water.

Meanwhile, the panels harvest the excess sunlight that the plants can’t use, allowing the panels to work more efficiently. It’s a mutually beneficial system for energy production and agriculture, and it has enormous benefits for communities and the environment.

Here are four things to know about agrivoltaics.

1) Agrivoltaics will help keep farmers farming.

Amidst high production costs, debt, and expensive land rents, many farmers today are just barely breaking even — even in the best income years. Agrivoltaics offers a path towards financial stability for small farms.  

In most cases, small farmers need several sources of income to maintain their operations, but the time commitment of running a farm often makes that difficult. However, solar leasing — which allows farmers to lease some of their land to solar developers — can provide farmers with additional income, especially as developers offer increasing payment rates. And at the same time, agrivoltaic systems can also lower financial risks related to weather and market conditions, as well as substantially increase land productivity.

2) Agrivoltaics is good for water, food, and clean energy. 

The water and clean energy benefits of agrivoltaics can be broken into three parts.

First, agrivoltaics reduces agricultural water demand by retaining soil moisture. According to an OSU study, areas beneath the solar panels were 328% more water efficient. This means less water wasted and more water available for farming or other uses like fish and wildlife. And in arid, water-limited environments, this promotes water security. 

Second, the shade provided by solar panels reduces temperature and solar radiation. This reduces plant stress, resulting in higher-quality food. In some cases, produce grown beneath solar panels has higher nutritional value, and in others, a greener, more attractive look for consumers. 

Finally, combining agriculture with solar panels makes the panels more efficient. Much like your cell phone, solar panels don’t work as well in high temperatures. Not only does agrivoltaics create a cooler environment around the panels — resulting in a 3 to 4% increase in energy production — but it can also increase the lifespan of the panels. 

Additionally, transitioning just over 1% of US agricultural land to agrivoltaics is enough to power the entire US with clean, renewable energy. If we want to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 while still meeting our energy needs and creating jobs, agrivoltaics will be an indispensable investment. 

3) Interconnection is hard. 

Grid interconnection is among the biggest barriers to agrivoltaics. For one, interconnection costs are often ambiguous. But what we do know is they tend to be high: For a 10 MW system — which costs about $10 million to build — the interconnection cost can be anywhere from $1 to $5 million in most cases.

Then there’s the interconnection queue. Developers must submit an interconnection request for their projects to be connected to the grid. Requests get placed in a queue, during which the project is assessed for safety and reliability, among other standards. But working through the queue is a sluggish process. And with queue lengths lasting up to five years, interconnection and construction costs may increase. In fact, over the past ten years, interconnection costs have increased four times. 

4) (Mis)perceptions matter. Agrivoltaics can be good for communities. 

Some community members worry agrivoltaics will decrease property values. Others are concerned about fire risks. And some just don’t like the way solar panels look. Whatever the concern, community perceptions matter. But it’s important to know when they’re actually misperceptions. 

• The American Clean Power Association reported that solar projects have not adversely affected property values. 

• Fires are unlikely, but even then, standards are in place to minimize risk and to properly address fires should they occur. 

• Agrivoltaic systems create local jobs and tax revenue. 

• Concerns over equity can be addressed with examples like Jack’s Solar Farm in Boulder, CO, where 2% of electricity is donated to low-income households. 

• As for aesthetics, it’s a matter of opinion, but many agrivoltaics projects include planting trees or vegetation along the property for a more attractive presence. 

Want to learn more about agrivoltaics?

Read more on The American Solar Grazing Association and AgriSolar Clearinghouse websites!