AgriSolar News Roundup: ENEL Develops Agrisolar System, Agrisolar Research in Iowa, New Chinese Agrisolar Design 

ENEL and ENEA Develop Microalgae Agrisolar System  

“ENEA and Enel have developed an ‘algovoltaic’ system to cultivate high-value microalgae, ranging from €100 ($106.19)/kg to €600/kg for pharmaceutical uses or cosmetic purposes. This is possible due to the integration of a fully automated cultivation system with a 7-kW solar array. 

The system allows the cultivation of microalgae with a high commercial value, from €100/kg to €600/kg for pharmaceutical or cosmetic use, through a fully automated cultivation system integrated with the solar array.” – PV Magazine 

Iowa State University Develops Agrisolar Project to Study Land Use 
 
“Iowa State University (ISU) is embarking on a research project to explore the combination of crops and solar power. The Alliant Solar Farm at Iowa State University is a groundbreaking agrivoltaics research project merging solar power generation and agriculture to study how best to optimize land use while providing local community benefits. The array was inaugurated on Thursday, October 19th with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.” – prnewswire 

New Chinese Agrisolar Design Accommodates Farming Equipment 

“Researchers in China have built a 10 kW spectral-splitting concentrator agrivoltaic system that accommodates small farming equipment below it. The installation relies on 128 concentrator modules integrating each an ultra-white and toughened concentrating curved glass (CCG), a multilayer polymer film (MPF) and 23%-efficient interdigitated-back contact (IBC) crystalline silicon solar cells provided by Sunpower.” – PV Magazine 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Minnesota Agrisolar Project, Follow the Sun Tour in Oregon, Agrisolar Funding in Massachusetts, Protecting Future Farmland Act in Wisconsin 

USDA Joins Great Plains Institute and Big River Farms in Minnesota Agrisolar Project 

“Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) joined Great Plains Institute (GPI) and Big River Farms announced GPI and Big River Farms’ ‘Solar Farmland Access for Emerging Farmers’ demonstration projects alongside project partners Connexus Energy and US Solar. As the country and Minnesota both take steps to convert our energy supply to be derived from carbon-free sources, this pilot project is setting out to solve for how solar energy development can be increased while also preserving agricultural land for the people who grow the state and nation’s food.  

Funded by the Mortenson Family Foundation and with additional support from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Argonne National Lab, these agrivoltaics projects aim to demonstrate safe and scalable operational practices for electric cooperatives and solar site owners to provide farmland access for emerging farmers inside the fence of solar facilities.” – Globenewswire.com 

AgriSolar Clearinghouse’s Follow the Sun Tour Visits Oregon 

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse’s Follow the Sun Tour visited the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Oregon, on September 18, 2023. The research center hosts an agrivoltaic project, where the University of Oregon studies combining crops and solar energy on the same parcel of land. Event attendees participated in a tour of the agrivoltaic site, guided by lead researcher Dr. Chad Higgins. After the tour, everyone enjoyed a lunch and round-table discussion in the conference room of the facility.  

The research conducted at the facility includes showing that solar arrays could be used as resources for plant productivity and that solar panels on agricultural lands maximizes their efficiency. Attendees discussed details related to these studies during the tour, which also included financial questions and scalability. 

Blue Wave in MA Secures $91 Million for Agrisolar Development 

“Northeast U.S. solar developer and operator BlueWave received $91 million in financing, which the company says will allow it to achieve long-term ownership and management of its portfolio of projects. 

The financing will go toward the construction of five projects featuring dual-use solar development attributes, called agrivoltaics, in Massachusetts. These projects are “strategically implemented to benefit all parties impacted by the projects,” including landowners, farmers and the surrounding community, according to BlueWave. The financing includes a $64 million debt raise with KeyBank, and $27 million tax equity raise with U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance.”– PV Magazine  

Wisconsin Bill Introduces the Protecting Future Farmland Act 

“U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Protecting Future Farmland Act, new legislation to support farmers’ land stewardship efforts as many choose to deploy solar energy on their land. The legislation will ensure that federal investment in rural energy projects prioritizes both land stewardship and responsible deployment of renewable energy to protect America’s farmlands for future cultivation.” Senate.gov 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Wyoming Solar Grazing, French Agrisolar Study, Bipartisan Agrisolar Support 

$500 Million Solar Grazing Site to be Constructed in Wyoming 

“A proposed solar farm near Glenrock will cover 4,738 acres on land bordering the North Platte River, the equivalent of more than 3,500 football fields. When online, it will provide 500 megawatts of solar power and include two battery storage facilities. And there will still be room for the land to support a sheep-grazing operation after construction. 

The $500 million project is scheduled to begin construction in March 2024, and if all goes as planned, will come online in July 2026. The project will be built entirely on private land, and Willox said the developer and landowner have agreed to allow sheep grazing underneath the panels.” – cowboystatedaily 

French Study Shows Benefits of Agrisolar in Water Resource Management 

“France’s Sun’Agri has revealed the results of a test showing how agrivoltaic installations effectively lower temperature and relative humidity during periods of drought. Amidst an ongoing heatwave in southern France, Sun’Agri, a French agrivoltaics specialist, has released its latest findings on the impacts of its technology on water resource management. 

The company conducted an analysis on the effects of solar panels on apple, cherry, and nectarine trees across three sites in La Pugère, Etoile sur Rhône, and Loriol, southern France. The study demonstrated that the PV installations reduced temperature and increased relative humidity for the crops underneath the panels during hot weather, compared to reference areas without protection.” – PV Magazine  

New Bill Shows Bipartisan Support for Agrisolar Development 

“The latest demonstration of bipartisan support for agrivoltaics comes from the offices of US Senators Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Mike Braun of Indiana. They introduced the new Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023 in the Senate on May 31. 

This bill will research agrivoltaics — solar panel systems that can be deployed over crops that can benefit from partial shading during the day — and how they can help farmers get more out of their fields.” – Cleantechnica 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Solar Lease Considerations, Pennsylvania Agrisolar Development, Agrisolar in Australia, California Agrisolar Politics

Things to Consider Before Signing a Solar Lease

“Part one of a three-part series on solar leases and considerations for lawyers and landowners. This is based on a presentation by Rusty Rumley, senior staff attorney, National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The presentation was delivered at the tenth annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference in Memphis, Tenn.” – Farmprogress.com 

Pennsylvania Group Pitches Farms on Solar Models

“Solar development on farmland is happening across central Pennsylvania — in some cases generating opposition from people who don’t like the look of solar panels and object to the loss of open land.

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture is working to introduce farmers to a different way of building solar farms that allows farming to continue and creates a smaller footprint. They hope it’s a way to address concerns in communities that have objected to large-scale solar. The model is called agrivoltaics, and it uses raised panels to generate solar energy while farming or livestock grazing continues beneath.” – stateimpact.npr.org

Australian Agrivoltaic Project Development Set to Move Forward

“A “farmer-led” utility-scale solar PV and battery storage agrivoltaics project in New South Wales, Australia, has been granted development consent.

The state’s government has decided to grant consent to the development application for Blind Creek Solar Farm. The project was originated by a group of farmers and is now being developed by Octopus Australia and the national Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) together with its founders.” – energystorage.com

A Second Amendment Amendment

“California may be a national leader in both solar energy and agriculture, but it’s lagging behind other states in combining the two. Putting solar panels directly on active farmland is supported by the Biden administration, which provided $8 million for projects last year. The Midwest and Southeast lead the country in the number of what are also known as agrisolar projects.

Early research suggests agrivoltaics can not only help produce renewable electricity, but also improve crop yields. “Sounds almost too good to be true,” California Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross quipped today during a panel on the practice held by the California Council on Science and Technology. In California, growers are more used to fighting utility-scale solar developers eyeing their land.

Ross highlighted a proposal by state Sen. Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), SB 688, that would set up a grant program at the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for agrivoltaics research projects. The bill does not appropriate any funding.” – Politico.com

AgriSolar News Roundup: Community Solar and LIHEAP, Solar Grazing Saving Sheep Herders, Agrisolar in Germany 

OCS Releases Guidance on Community Solar and LIHEAP for Grant Recipients 

“The purpose of this grant recipient information is to: 1) confirm that LIHEAP funds can be used for solar energy use through new and existing electric payment mechanisms, such as community solar subscription fees; and 2) provide LIHEAP grant recipients with recommendations to consider when utilizing LIHEAP funds for community solar subscriptions.” – acf.hhs.gov 

Benefits of community solar include cost savings, access to clean energy, support for local communities, and flexibility in subscription options. 

Solar Grazing Benefits Sheep Herders with Revenue Opportunities 

“The US solar industry has been growing rapidly: The country is expected to break solar construction records this year by adding more than 32 gigawatts of capacity, according to a Bloomberg NEF outlook. That’s enough to power more than 25 million homes. At the same time, there are concerns there won’t be enough cropland to feed a growing world population, especially if acreage is covered by buildings, roads or photovoltaic installations instead. 

The American Solar Grazing Association, founded in 2018, estimates about 5,000 sheep are currently maintaining US solar sites. ‘The sheep do a better job supporting the biodiversity than a conventional mower,’ said Jay Smith, Director of Asset Management at Standard Solar. In some instances, sheep are better suited to maneuver around solar panels than conventional mowers and help reduce carbon emissions. 

The practice [Agrisolar] is giving sheep herders a lifeline, introducing a new revenue stream after a decades-long decline for the US lamb industry. The number of sheep slaughtered in the US has been averaging over 2 million head in recent years, compared to more than 9 million in the early 1970s, according to Department of Agriculture data.” – Bloomberg.com  

German Agrisolar Project Uses Solar to Benefit Hop Growth 

“Germany’s Agri Energie has commissioned an agrivoltaic project in Hallertau, near Munich, in the German state of Bavaria. The €1.5 million ($1.64 million) project combines solar generation with hop growth. 

The company installed the PV system on steel masts, providing protection to hop plants from sunlight and hail, while also reducing evaporation. In addition, the system serves as support for the hop plants.” – PV Magazine 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Bipartisan Agrivoltaics Bill, Danish Solar Grazing, Ohio Agrisolar Project 

U.S. Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill that Supports Agrivoltaics Research 

“U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle have recently proposed two bills to boost agrivoltaics, the double-duty climate solution that pairs solar panels (photovoltaics) with agriculture — or closely related land uses that benefit farmers and ecosystems. 

In May, senators Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) introduced the Pollinator Power Act. Its passage would direct the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize solar projects funded by the Rural Energy for America Program that create habitat for pollinators underneath the panels. Pollinators such as bees, butterflies and beetles are responsible for pollinating three-quarters of flowering plants and 35 percent of food crops, but populations are in striking decline, in major part because of habitat loss. 

On the heels of the pollinator bill, senators Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) and Mike Braun (R-Indiana) worked across the aisle to jointly propose legislation that could catalyze the growth of agrivoltaics in the U.S.: the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act. If made law, the act would invest $15 million per year from 2024 to 2028 — $75 million total — toward agrivoltaics research and demonstration projects.” – Canary Media 

“”Agrivoltaic systems within the legislation apply to lands where agricultural activities and solar energy production are simultaneously taking place. The USDA’s National Institutes of Food and Agriculture would work closely with the Department of Energy to establish a network of demonstration sites nationwide through the legislation. Agrivoltaic advocates note that the practice can increase farm profits through the reduction in energy use or selling of energy generated on-farm. Other supporters of the legislation include American Farmland Trust (AFT) and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.” – AgNet West 

Danish Agrisolar Project will Utilize Sheep Grazing 

“Danish renewable energy company Eurowind Energy is developing an agrivoltaic project in Romania, a 70 MW photovoltaic park that will combine solar energy with agriculture. The solar park will span 80 hectares, with 119,184 modules, while its projected annual electricity output is about 102 GWh, enough to supply some 30,000 households. 

At the same time, 130 farmers will be able to use the 80-hectare land for their animals to graze, according to media reports, which cited a press release from Eurowind Energy. 

Recently, works were launched on Croatia’s first agrisolar power plant, in a project that will involve sheep farming. Earlier this year, Hungary-based BSD Invest Europe said it was planning to install a solar park with on the Serbian-Montenegrin border, which would simultaneously be used for sheep farming and growing berries.” – Balkan Green Energy News 

Ohio Agrisolar Project Funded by State Agency 

“The Madison Fields project is being developed by Savion Energy of Kansas City, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in December 2023 and plans to operate for at least 30 years. The company is working with Ohio State University’s Extension Service on pairing agriculture with solar. 

The 180-MW solar facility is expected to generate the equivalent power for up to approximately 35,000 households. The project creates two full-time permanent jobs and 596 full-time temporary positions during the construction phase.  

The company has received community support for the project including from the Board of Commissioners of Madison County, the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District, Pike Township and Fairbanks Local School District.” – Solar Power World 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Community Solar Projects, Colorado Agrivoltaics Bill Signing, Agrisolar Research in Oregon 

500MW of Community Solar to be Deployed by Community Solar Collective 

“Aggreko Energy Transition Solutions (ETS), a business unit of Scottish modular power equipment distributor Aggreko Ltd., announced it would become the capital partner to the Farmers Powering Communities (FPC) platform, a farmland community solar development collective. With preservation and non-profit groups Edelen Renewables, the American Farmland Trust and community solar aggregator Arcadia, the FPC platform is focused on building out 500 MW of community solar projects over the next decade sited on rural farmland.  

The farming community solar program will advance projects of 25 to 50 acres to provide green energy to the many residents who don’t have access to rooftop solar or a local clean energy source. These could be low- to middle-income residents who may not be able to afford solar, people who rent and don’t own their roof, or people whose homes are not situated to take advantage of the sun’s energy.” – PV Magazine 

Jack’s Solar Garden Hosts Agrivoltaic Bill Signing  

Colorado governor Jared Polis recently signed Colorado Senate Bill 092. The bill signing was attended by Senator Chris Hansen; Representative Karen McCormick, DVM; and Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg. The signing  was hosted at Jack’s Solar Garden, an agrisolar operation in Boulder County, Colorado, and one of the largest agrivoltaic operations in the country. 

“In support of the use of agrivoltaics, which is the integration of solar energy generation facilities with agricultural activities, section 2 of the bill authorizes the agricultural drought and climate resilience office to award grants for new or ongoing demonstration or research projects that demonstrate or study the use of agrivoltaics.” – colorado.gov 

Oregon State University Shows Benefits of Agrivoltaics  

“On a small research farm outside of Wilsonville, Chad Higgins feels like he’s watching the future of farming and energy production unfold. Higgins, a biological and environmental engineering professor at Oregon State University, oversees one of the largest experiments in agrivoltaics in the world.   

Using agrivoltaic systems, Higgins has grown tomatoes with bigger yields and dry beans with higher protein content. He’s raised sheep in pastures under solar panels and, though the sheep don’t grow any faster, he’s able to graze more of them per acre because the grass grows more quickly. He’s also found that, because the plants cool the environment around them, the solar panels don’t run as hot and produce energy more efficiently.” - KGW 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Solar Pollinator Habitat in Minnesota, Agrisolar Industries in US, Europe and Asia, Dominion Energy Lambscaping, Solar Grazing in Kentucky, Virginia Solar Pollinators, Solar Restores Biocrusts 

US Agriculture Industry Demonstrates Ability to Embrace New Technologies and Practices

“The rising tide of opposition to large-scale solar farms has been impacting the US solar industry, but over the long run, PV stakeholders have the butterflies on their side. Solar developers are eager to pitch their projects as pollinator habitats that replace cultivated crops and neglected land with native plants, benefiting the property owner and nearby farms. The pollinator angle helps to undercut complaints that solar arrays are an inappropriate use of farmland, and it supports the case for farmers to adopt new technologies that benefit their industry.

Minnesota has become the epicenter of the solar-plus-pollinator trend, with local electric cooperative Connexus Energy leading the way. That’s no accident. A 2016 state law set up Minnesota’s Habitat Friendly Solar program, which incentivizes property owners and solar developers to claim benefits for gamebirds as well as songbirds and pollinating insects.” – Cleantechnica

Agrisolar Can Lower Food Costs, Reduce Emissions, and Improve Farming

“The agricultural industries in Europe, Asia and the United States have been aggressively expanding their agrivoltaic farms with wide public support. In Europe, solar panels are put over different types of crops, including fruit trees. Meanwhile, in China, agrivoltaics is used to reverse desertification which is literally using solar panels to green former deserts.

The life cycle analysis of agrivoltaics, which assesses its impact from its conception to use, found that these solar-covered farms emit 69.3 per cent less greenhouse gases and demand 82.9 per cent less fossil energy compared to separate food farms and solar farms-based production.” – Morning Ag Clips

Dominion Energy Lambscaping on Solar Sites  

“As part of Dominion’s solar grazing program, sheep clean up more than 40 acres a day across five of their solar farms. ‘We are trying to get creative and innovative in ways in vegetation management,’ said Dominion Energy spokesperson Tim Eberly. It’s more environmentally friendly, too, because it saves emissions generated by lawn mowing equipment.  

The digested grass and manure also help improve water filtration from rain, which provides a cooling aspect for more than 80,000 solar panels, which, in turn, also makes them more efficient.” – WTKR 

Kentucky Farm Uses Sheep to Graze Solar Site 

“Since 2020, Shetland and Katadin sheep have been roaming and eating grass on the 50-acre solar facility in Harrodsburg, southeast of Lexington. What started out as 25 sheep in the flock has grown to 200 sheep. 

‘By using sheep rather than lawnmowers, what we‘re doing here is both more environmentally friendly and helps manage expenses by keeping maintenance costs down. We also hope our unique approach can be a model for other utilities and their solar initiatives.’ Aron Patrick, director of Research and Development at LG&E and KU parent company PPL Corporation, said in a news release Wednesday.” – WDRB 

Hexagon Energy Plans to Develop Pollinator Habitat on Solar Site  

“Charlottesville-based Hexagon Energy hopes to install solar panels on 650 acres near Scottsville. After 80 years of tree farming, the land there is exhausted, so Hexagon’s Scott Remer says the company will cultivate native grasses and flowers to restore the soil. 

‘It’s about 500 acres of meadow habitat that’s actually going to be established from a cutover moonscape right now to about 500 acres of meadow habitat, and that’s not even counting clover and plants and flowers and grasses that are under the panels,’” – WVTF 

Thistlerock Meadery is set to keep 100 hives on the solar site once development is completed. 

Research Shows Solar Shade Helps Restore Biocrusts

“Arizona State University (ASU) professor Ferran Garcia-Pichel and his research team have proposed to use solar arrays as a solution to the problem of excess heat and light, creating a shaded nursery to promote biocrust growth.

The researchers performed a proof-of-concept experiment in the Sonoran Desert, studying biocrust growth for three years. During the study, the PV array promoted biocrust formation, doubling biocrust total biomass and tripling its coverage area when compared to open areas with similar soil characteristics. Natural recovery of harvested biocrusts can take six to eight years to recuperate without intervention, but re-inoculated areas under the solar panels were able to nearly fully recover within one year.” – PV Magazine

More information on this research can be found here.

AgriSolar News Roundup: SREC Tracking, Spade Agrivoltaic Software, Agrivoltaic Market Value, Cannabis and Solar 

Commodity or Specialty: Tracking Pollinator-Friendly SRECS

“The M-RETS platform—the leading renewable environmental attribute tracking system used by Fortune 25 companies, utilities, and regulators—this year will begin tracking an additional environmental attribute associated with grid-scale solar projects: a pollinator-friendly designation. M-RETS already tracks solar renewable energy credits (called S-RECs) and Minnesota is one of a number of states that have created an official standard and system recognizing solar projects that utilize ground cover that provides meaningful benefits to pollinators, song birds, and game birds.

This additional data gives solar energy buyers the opportunity to encourage the development of pollinator-friendly solar and stack additional environmental benefits on their energy purchase.” – M-RETS

This can be thought of as if your company is buying a commodity product or a specialty product. If these options are the same price, would your company prefer to buy a commodity SREC or a boutique SREC?

Spade Develops Agrivoltaic Software  

“Solar developer and federal grant recipient Sandbox Solar has released a beta version of its agrivoltaic power plant software modeling tool that aids in the design and optimization of solar panels and the crops underneath. 

Sandbox Solar, a solar contractor, has been developing a (software) tool, called Spade. Spade aims to help solar developers determine the best crop types and solar panel layouts for their projects. The tool made it into the fifth and final round of the Department of Energy’s “American Made” solar innovation program.” – PV Magazine 

Spade is a stakeholder in the AgriSolar Clearinghouse. 

Global Agrivoltaics Market Valued at $9.3 Billion 

“Agrivoltaics, the combination of farming practices with energy produced by solar photovoltaics (PV), is forecast to become a $9.3 billion marketplace by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1% in that timeframe from $3.6 billion a year ago, according to a research note by India-based market research company Allied Analytics.” – PV Magazine 

Solar Could Play Important Role in Cannabis Industry 

“Solar energy and cannabis cultivation are old bedfellows. PV pioneer John Schaeffer has even credited solar with facilitating the northern California cannabis industry, which in turn supported the nascent PV sector. Now, as the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis gathers pace, solar continues to perform a key role.  

Canndescent Senior Director of Compliance Andrew Mochulsky told PV Magazine the Colorado Desert’s unrelenting sunshine and limited cloud cover make solar a no-brainer. ‘We’re in the heart of solar and wind country so it made sense to bring solar online,’ he says. ‘We also think it’s just the right thing to do.’”– PV Magazine 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Cornell Agrisolar Research, Agrivoltaic Development in Italy, Oregon Agrisolar Research 

Research Shows Crops Can Boost Photovoltaic Panel Performance and Longevity 

“We now have, for the first time, a physics-based tool to estimate the costs and benefits of co-locating solar panels and commercial agriculture from the perspective of increased power conversion efficiency and solar-panel longevity,” said lead author Henry Williams, a doctoral student at Cornell. 

“‘There is potential for agrivoltaic systems – where agriculture and solar panels coexist – to provide increased passive cooling through taller panel heights, more reflective ground cover and higher evapotranspiration rates compared to traditional solar farms,’ said senior author Max Zhang, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, ‘We can generate renewable electricity and conserve farmland through agrivoltaic systems.’” – News Wise  

The study can be found here. 

170 MW of Agrivoltaics to be Developed in Italy  

“Enel Green Power has started building a 170 MW agrivoltaics plant in Viterbo, Italy. The Rome-based company claims it will be Italy’s largest agrivoltaics installation upon completion. The plant will feature bifacial PV modules mounted on trackers, both from undisclosed manufacturers.  

Enel is using a ‘solar-first’ approach to solar and agriculture, with electricity generation remaining the main goal. Its approach is designed to retrofit large-scale solar plants to allow crops to grow between the trackers and the panels. Agriculture is integrated into existing solar farms, rather than the other way around, as is often the case in agrivoltaics projects.” – PV Magazine 

Oregon Research Shows Agrisolar Benefits Crops and Livestock 

“Putting solar panels on farmland, known as agrivoltaics, has been a bit of a political hot-potato in some parts of Europe and the U.S. For environmental engineer Chad Higgins, at Oregon State University, the choice between farmland and energy is a false one. There has to be thoughtful design, he says, but ’our research indicates they can coexist and even create mutual benefits.’ 

Researchers around the world are exploring growing everything from grapes and raspberries to potatoes and wheat under and between photovoltaic panels. Higgins has shown that sheep will preferentially graze in field areas where shade was offered by solar panels; lambs that foraged under solar panels put on as much weight as those in open fields and in late spring needed less water.”  – Reuters