Can agrivoltaic projects benefit farmers?

Agrivoltaic projects can benefit farmers by giving them a second crop: electric power. Or, farmers can pick up some extra cash by leasing their land to power companies that will install their own solar panels on the site. Although the idea behind agrivoltaics has been around for decades, interest among farmers has picked up only recently.

Should agrivoltaic planners put solar over a farm?

Or farm first, and put solar over it?” If farming is the main priority, she says, then the solar panels may need to be spaced farther apart and possibly be raised higher. Such changes could potentially limit how much electricity those farm fields generate. And agrivoltaic planners may need to treat the soil, Macknick says.

Are solar panels a good idea for farmers?

Emerging data, he says, show that even as the solar panels go in overhead, farmers must protect the natural processes that help plants grow. “That can do a lot of good,” he says. “Otherwise, it’s really hard to cheat nature.” Agrivoltaics merges agriculture with photovoltaic panels, which generate electricity from sunlight.

Could agrivoltaic farming be a solution?

Agrivoltaic farming could be a solution to not just one but both of these problems. It uses the shaded space underneath solar panels to grow crops. This increases land-use efficiency, as it lets solar farms and agriculture share ground, rather than making them compete against one another.

What is agrivoltaic farming?

Here’s all you need to know about ‘agrivoltaic farming’ Agrivoltaic farming uses the shaded space underneath solar panels to grow crops. This article was updated on 28 October 2022. Agrivoltaic farming is the practice of growing crops underneath solar panels. Scientific studies show some crops thrive when grown in this way.

Can solar panels be used on farms?

Installing solar panels on farms helps solve another major problem: finding the space to collect enough sunlight to produce a bounty of electricity. Farmers can help by sharing their land, says Jordan Macknick. An environmental scientist, he works at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL. It’s in Golden, Colo.