Entries by A. J. Puckett

AgriSolar News Roundup: Agrivoltaic Projects Funded in France and Germany, Experts Say Solar Drives Agriculture Growth, Agrisolar Enhances Biodiversity in England 

100 MW of Agrivoltaic Projects Awarded to Alphatracker in France and Germany  “Alphatracker, a global provider of tracking solutions and fixed structures for solar installations on agricultural land, has been awarded agrivoltaic projects totaling 100 MW of installed capacity in France and Germany. The company says this achievement reinforces its leadership in the sector and […]

AgriSolar News Roundup: SETO AgriSolar Funding Announcement, DOE Funding Opportunity for AgriSolar, Hawaiian AgriSolar Research, AgriSolar Legislation in Czechia 

SETO Announces Funding Opportunity for Agrivoltaics  “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits 2 (SolWEB2) funding opportunity, which will award up to $11 million for research and development, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement activities that improve the compatibility of large-scale solar (LSS) facilities […]

Solar Thermal Energy

By Stacie Peterson and Chris Lent, National Center for Appropriate Technology Agrivoltaics is a practice defined as the co-location of crops and grazing under and adjacent to solar photovoltaic panels. The concept of agrisolar co-location goes beyond photovoltaic solar and includes other solar energy production that is not photovoltaic, such as solar thermal. Solar thermal […]

AgriSolar News Roundup: Agrisolar in Nova Scotia, Albania Agrisolar Law, World Soil Day 

Experts Say Agrisolar Could Benefit Nova Scotia  “Solar energy advocates believe agrivoltaics could have many benefits in Nova Scotia. There are now more than 10,000 solar installations in Nova Scotia, according to the non-profit group that’s trying to build up solar infrastructure in the province. That’s up from 8,000 this time last year and just […]

SCAPES Agrivoltaics Survey 

As agrivoltaics gain traction across the United States, research on barriers and opportunities for co-locating agriculture with solar is expanding. The SCAPES solar research project, led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how to efficiently co-locate photovoltaic and agricultural systems in various biogeographical regions. As […]

AgriSolar News Roundup: Agrisolar Development, Aquavoltaics in Taiwan, Illinois Solar Grazing 

Agricultural Land Usually Remains in Agriculture After Solar and Wind Development   “As [agrisolar] development has expanded, some communities have raised concerns about the local effects of solar and wind projects. USDA, Economic Research Service researchers recently studied how solar and wind development affects land cover near wind turbines and solar farms.   Researchers examined the […]

Crops Uniquely Suited to Growth in Agrivoltaic Settings  

Gary Paul Nabhan, PhD., Agroecologist, Borderlands Restoration Network  When most Americans think of crop production, they tend to imagine crops growing in full sunlight to achieve their full potential for productivity. But over decades,there has always been crop production in shade habitats or constructed environments, as well. Indeed, much of the coffee and chocolate (cocoa) consumed […]

,

Data on the Effects of a Vertical Agrivoltaic System on Crop Yield and Nutrient Content of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Sweden

Agrivoltaic systems emerge as a promising solution to the ongoing conflict between allocating agricultural land for food production and establishing solar parks. This field experiment, conducted during the spring and summer seasons of 2023, aims to showcase barley production in a vertical agrivoltaic system compared to open-field reference conditions at Kärrbo Prästgård, near Västerås, Sweden.

Case Study: Existing Solar as Farmland Access for Emerging Farmers 

By Rob Davis, Connexus Energy  “Growing Farmers, Growing Foods” is the mission at Minnesota-based Big River Farms, a program of 501(c)3 nonprofit The Food Group. They recently won the North American Agrivoltaics Award for Best Solar Farm in 2024. Big River Farms teaches farmers to farm organically, sustainably, and regeneratively while also enhancing the level […]