Key facts
- Agrivoltaics allows for the installation of solar panels on agricultural land while still permitting farming activities.
- This dual-use model provides farmers with diversified revenue streams and ecological advantages.
- Solar panels can offer shade, reduce water evaporation, and help cool crops and livestock.
- California is planning a large-scale agrivoltaics project in the San Joaquin Valley.
- Virginia has defined agrivoltaics to encourage development and address public concerns about farmland loss.
- Europe could generate hundreds of terawatt-hours of electricity annually by deploying agrivoltaics on a small portion of its agricultural land.
Energy companies are increasingly investing in agrivoltaics, a dual-use approach that integrates solar power generation with agricultural land. This strategy aims to overcome common criticisms of solar farms consuming arable land by allowing farming practices to continue beneath or around solar panels. Farmers benefit from diversified income, while the panels can provide shade, reduce water evaporation, and help cool crops and livestock, potentially increasing panel efficiency.
California is leading the charge with plans to develop extensive solar fields on tens of thousands of acres of fallow agricultural land in the San Joaquin Valley. Golden State Clean Energy is spearheading a project that aims to install up to 21 GW of solar panels and 21 GW of battery storage over the next decade, enough to power over 10 million homes and support the state's renewable energy goals.
Virginia is also promoting agrivoltaics by codifying a state definition for the practice, seeking to boost energy production amid rising demand and address public opposition to solar developments blamed for farmland loss. The state has a mandate for its largest utilities to develop over 16 GW of land-based renewable energy.
Globally, agrivoltaics are seen as a promising solution. Research suggests that deploying these systems on just 1% of Europe's agricultural land could generate hundreds of terawatt-hours of electricity annually without significantly impacting farming. Greece has announced plans for 130 MW of agrivoltaics, highlighting the growing international adoption of this integrated energy and agriculture model.