Solar Farm Summit

By Dan Schmidt

The following article is part 1 of a two-part series on Agrivoltaics. Dan Schmidt, a local solar installer working for Rethink Electric, wrote this article (and part two in our next issue) after attending a local Conference.

I took some vacation days to attend a conference that I'd like to share with you. The first North American Agrivoltaics Conference, Solar Farm Summit 2023, was an amazing display of what is happening and what is possible around the world. There are two broad categories of Agrivoltaics: Solar First and Food First.

It was very cool to hear many of the federal and state agencies and advocacy groups discuss ongoing programs from NREL (National Renewal Energy Laboratory) and the DOE (Department of Energy), as well as some of the individuals who worked on CEJA in Illinois. I learned that all 131 gigawatts of the 55 community solar sites being built in Illinois have recently decided to follow guidelines to define themselves as agrivoltaics through choosing pollinator-friendly seed mixes. The vegetation management company that Sunvest contracts for all its sites was present at the conference, as well as other regional leaders in the space. These sites are producing environmental benefits to the surrounding farmland through the ecological health of biodiversity of plants, insects, and improved water table health.

By planting native plants that are pollinator friendly, ideal forage is created for grazing livestock such as sheep. Over the life of the project, the health of the soil on site will improve greatly and the surrounding farmland will see the benefits of a healthier ecology. This approach is considered solar first because it prioritizes maximum solar production and employs no modifications to existing solar installation methods. Across the country, the management of sites up to 1,300 acres is being aided by the grazing of sheep, with no real limit on how large a site can be. Silicon Ranch is among the largest operations, as well as Gary's Lambscaping. Apparently, there is also a high demand for sheep in the US that is being met by imports of meat products. Solar grazing can meet that demand while being a source of local employment for new farmers shepherding sheep and providing local food security to rural areas that mostly grow inedible corn and soy. Sheep produce fiber and dairy, as well.

Food first projects can offer better solutions to other agricultural needs than currently exist.

Active projects around the world are showing that solar can benefit crops growing below them. Many high-value market garden crops like grapes, tomatoes, fruit trees, berries of all kinds, lettuce, and more, face heat stress without additional costs to protect them from the sun during the peak heat of the day. Single axis trackers run north-south and are well suited to allow enough light to reach these crops while benefiting them with cooler temperatures that promote healthier growth. This shade also helps to retain moisture and forms the basis of a symbiotic relationship that also benefits the solar production. The microclimate created by the plants and the solar panels is cooler because of the transpiration of water through the plants that then is retained by the solar modules above. The solar array also produces more energy in these cooler temperatures. Jack's Solar Garden has received the most attention for their project in Boulder, Colorado, with a community garden below their community solar site. Solar Farm Summit also featured several startups that have developed agrivoltaic projects across the country using specialized racking structures that allow more light to pass through and are mounted higher than a typical ground-mounted solar project.

One speaker presented their work with rural communities in India who face water shortages in their rice crops. Elevated solar installations improved their rice yields while using less water and producing more power from the same solar modules installed in more conventional systems over bare land.

The American Farmland Trust was there speaking to the benefits of Agrivoltaics for solar development in the US. Many farmers are actively fighting projects they see as encroaching on their rural character, seeing solar as an industrial development. But with the perception (and reality) that solar actually improves farmland, which can continue to be agriculturally productive, farmers are more likely to embrace projects in their community, rather than obstruct their construction.

For more information on this topic, check out North American Agrivoltaics Conference, Solar Farm Summit 2023, here. Dan Schmidt can be contacted at: daniel.schmidt1089@gmail.com