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New Mexico’s Chile Crop Is Hot on Agrivoltaics 

New Mexico has tremendous potential in solar energy production thanks to its consistently sunny weather and high levels of solar irradiance. Presently, the state's solar market holds a value of $3.2 billion with significant room for expansion. As stakeholders express increasing interest, they are discovering a trend observed in several other states: some of the most favorable locations for extensive solar developments are within agricultural production fields. The concept of integrating photovoltaic (PV) panels into these fields, known as agrivoltaics, has gathered attention and investment.

Case Study: University of Delaware Agrisolar Research 

As we strive for climate change solutions, competition over land for food production or clean energy production is an emerging challenge to address this challenge, demonstrations of systems that produce energy and food on the same land are…

Case Study: Hawai’i Agriculture Research Center

Crops growing under solar panels at the Hawai’i Agriculture Research Center.  By Anna Richmond-Mueller, NCAT Energy Analyst   In Mililani, Hawai’i, a one-acre agrivoltaic research and development site run by the Hawai’i…

Case Study: Colorado State University Rooftop Agrivoltaics 

A variety of chile pepper plants grow under solar panels on the roof of Colorado State University Spur campus. Written for the AgriSolar Clearinghouse by Allison Jackson, Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center Sitting atop the brand-new…

Chiktopia: Solar Grazing with Automated Chicken Coops 

By Allen Puckett, NCAT Technical Writer  August 2023  In Ballground, Georgia, Jeffrey Whitmire and Chris Ayers, owners and operators of Chiktopia, are making use of an innovative solar technology that allows them to automate…

Battlefield Lavender Farm: Solar Powered Processing

By Chris Lent, NCAT Agriculture Specialist The concept of agrisolar—the use of land for solar electric and agricultural production—is becoming a popular idea. It captivates the imagination to think of the many ways we can use a limited land base to produce...

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill Solar Grazing in Kentucky 

By Allen Puckett, NCAT Technical Writer In Harrodsburg, Kentucky, a flock of sheep is successfully grazing on a solar array at the E.W. Brown Farm, thanks to a collaboration between Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and LG&E. This operation…

Case Study: Winston Cone Optics and Dairy Processing 

Winston Cone Optics’ installed pilot system on the roof of a dairy barn in California. By Anna Richmond-Mueller, NCAT Energy Analyst Thanks to the increase of solar photovoltaic sites in recent years, agrivoltaics has started to…

Solar Shepherd in Massachusetts: Solar Grazing 

By Allen Puckett, NCAT Technical Writer  July 2023  The Solar Shepherd provides grazing services in Brookfield, Massachusetts, with 75 sheep that graze a solar array site owned by SWEB Development, a European clean energy firm.…
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Maces Pond: Agrisolar Wild Blueberries

By Chris Lent, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Not far from the town of Rockport, Maine, Paul Sweetland of Sweetland Farms, LLC has been tending wild blueberries since he was a young boy. On one field that he has been farming since the late 1990s,…