Farming For Crops — and For Solar Power
Updated: Sep 3
Farming for solar power can be an additional money-maker.
Alex Fitzpatrick | AXIOS
Farmers and researchers are experimenting with installing solar panels over active agricultural land in an emerging field called agrivoltaics.
Why it matters: As the world seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels, solar power will indisputably be part of the post-carbon energy mix.
Yet there's only so much land that can be effectively converted to single-use solar production, so dual-use projects like agrivoltaics are getting a closer look.
For farmers — many of whom are facing an uncertain future as the climate changes — the hope is that "farming" for solar power can be an additional money-maker.
How it works: Solar panels installed over farmers' crops generate electricity that can then be sold to an energy supplier and fed into the power grid for community use.
Crops that thrive in the shade — think leafy greens like kale and lettuce, or root vegetables like radish and beets — are protected from harsh direct sunlight.
Plants, meanwhile, naturally give off water vapor that can help cool solar panels from below, improving their efficiency.
State of play: U.S. agrivoltaic pilot programs are afoot in:
Rockport, Maine, where University of Maine researchers are studying the impact of solar panels installed over 11 acres of blueberry farmland.
Grafton, Massachusetts, where farmers are working with University of Massachusetts academics to figure out which crops perform best under solar panels' shade.
And Longmont, Colorado, home to Jack's Solar Garden, which considers itself the country's largest commercially active site for agrivoltaics research.
Be smart: Farms' fundamental purpose has always been converting the sun's rays into energy. That energy has historically taken the form of calories — but agrivoltaics makes it possible for farmers to diversify their energy output, says Chad Higgins, an associate professor at Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences.
"Do they want to create electrons in the form of electricity? Or do they want to create calories in the form of food, or a mixture of both? What's the most profitable for them? What's best for them, given their available other resources?"
Yes, but: Some farmers are skeptical, mostly due to practical concerns. It can be hard to drive a tractor in and around a bunch of solar panels, for instance.
The upfront cost of installing lots of solar panels can be prohibitive — although some states, like Massachusetts, are experimenting with financial incentives.
That's trickier than it might sound — if producing solar power becomes dramatically more profitable than growing crops, and lots of farmers switch mostly or fully to solar, food shortages could follow.
Whether it makes sense for a farm to add solar also depends on whether there's an electric substation nearby. The further a substation, the more energy is lost in transmission — meaning it won't be economical to sell power into the grid.
What's next: As researchers and early adopters figure out the best crops, tools and techniques to use — and more state, local and national governments support agrivoltaic efforts — expect to see lots more solar panels over the world's farmland in the coming years.
