AgriSolar News Roundup: GivePower Aquavoltaics, Solar Decommissioning Resource Guide, Chinese Aquavoltaics Deployment, Solar Irrigation in Nebraska

GivePower Desalinates Water Overseas Using Aquavoltaics 

“Austin, Texas-based GivePower started by installing solar panels for schools, community centers or other projects in communities in need. But GivePower founder Hayes Bernard realized that people, especially women and girls, would not attend school if they had to walk 8 miles to get water every day. That’s when the idea to include water pumps and desalination came to mind.  

GivePower has seven operational desalination sites in countries like Haiti, Kenya, and Colombia. Four additional solar water farms are expected to become operational by the end of this year. GivePower has different sized desalination sites and setups. The largest one, the Solar Water Farm Max, produces up to 18,500 gallons of water daily — enough to support 35,000 people. It has a solar structure that acts like a roof over the water tanks and the twenty-foot equivalent unit shipping containers that house the desalination technology.” – American Shipper 

Resource Guide for Decommissioning Solar Energy Systems 

A new resource guide on decommissioning solar energy systems, written by AgriSolar Clearinghouse partner Heidi Kolbeck-Urlacher, offers resources for understanding solar project end-of-lifecycle management and recommendations for local governments to consider when drafting decommissioning ordinances. The report is now available through the Center for Rural Affairs here.  

“Solar projects are often located in rural areas and can provide numerous benefits to nearby communities, including lease payments to landowners, tax revenue to fund infrastructure and services, and the creation of both permanent and temporary jobs. County officials are typically responsible for enacting siting or zoning standards to help ensure solar development is supported by local residents. This can include planning for the eventual decommissioning of energy projects that have reached the end of their life cycles.” – Center for Rural Affairs 

The guide includes examples of decommissioning costs, extending performance periods of solar systems, recycling and disposal of solar panels, sample task lists associated with decommissioning solar systems, and recommendations for plans that define obligations of developers during the decommissioning process.  

Chinese Fishery Deploys 70MW Solar Plant 

“Farms where fish and algae thrive under solar panels might have secured their place in a future powered by renewable energy. Concord New Energy, a Chinese company that specializes in wind and solar power project development and operation, has installed a 70 MW solar plant atop a fishpond in an industrial park in Cangzhou, China’s Hebei region. The hybrid system integrates solar power generation with fishery in a unique way that not only saves land but also produces clean energy. This hybrid system is straightforward: a solar array is installed above the fish pond’s water surface, and the water area beneath the solar array is used for fish and shrimp farming. 

The fishery-solar hybrid system is a type of floating solar farm that has grown in popularity over the years as solar power has evolved to meet the needs of our increasingly climactic times. For example, the United States has just begun construction of the country’s biggest floating solar farm in New Jersey.” – Interesting Engineering 

Valley Irrigation Develops Solar Irrigation Site in Nebraska 

Valley Irrigation has announced the completion of its first North American agrisolar installation in Nebraska through its partnership with Farmers National Company. 

“The installation is located near Davenport, Nebraska, and will provide solar power to a Valley center pivot by offsetting energy consumption used to irrigate the field. Farmers National Company’s landowner client invested in Tier 1 solar panels, which are the highest-quality panels and are also used on major utility-sized installations. They are built to withstand the often-harsh conditions of Nebraska weather, including strong winds and hail.” – Valmont 

“Matt Gunderson is with Farmers National Company and says it helps producers become more sustainable and increase return on investment. “We create some on farm generation not only to power a farm, but how do we tie it back into the grid system to support the electricity needs that are out there? And, along the way with it, sell that electricity back for some excess needs and create some investment opportunities and income generation for producers.” – Brownfield 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Aquavoltaics in Taiwan, AgriSolar in Italy, National Pollinator Week Recognized

Aquavoltaics to be Developed in Taiwan by 2023 

“UK solar specialist Lightsource is developing a 150 MW solar park at a fishery in Budai, in Taiwan’s Chiayi County. Construction is expected to commence in June 2023. The company is co-developing the project with Germany’s Green Rock Energy. They plan to start construction on the facility in June 2023. Lightsource said the project will be one of the largest fishery solar farms in Taiwan and will be able to generate 210,000 MWh per year.” – PV Magazine Global 

Farmers Could Become Energy Exporters in Italy 

“Italy wants the European Union to allow farmers to sell surplus electricity they generate on their land, a measure that could help soften a bloc-wide energy crunch. “Italian agricultural companies have huge surfaces available that should be filled with solar panels,” Agriculture Minister Stefano Patuanelli said in an interview Monday, referring to the roofs of stables, granaries and sheds. 

Solar sharing – which involves using farmland for producing crops as well as generating power – has gained traction in recent years, as farmers have sought to cash in on a renewable project boom. It is also not uncommon for them to lease their land and be paid indirectly, without owning the project.” – Bloomberg  

National Pollinator Week Recognized  

“Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proclamation in recognition and support of National Pollinator Week (June 20-26, 2022). Pollinator species, such as bees, other insects, birds, and bats play a critical role in producing more than 100 crops grown in the United States. Honeybee pollination alone adds more than $18 billion in value to agricultural crops annually. USDA recognizes the critical role pollinators play in agriculture and supports pollinator health through research, data collection, diagnostic services, monitoring, pollinator habitat enhancement programs and pollinator health investments.” – USDA 

Massachusetts Farm Partners with BlueWave in Dual-Use Solar

The Knowlton Farm, a Massachusetts agrisolar operation, has recently partnered with BlueWave Solar to expand agrisolar operations on the farm in Grafton, according to an article by The New York Times.  

Owner Paul Knowlton stated that the farm typically produces a variety of vegetables, dairy products, and hay, but also produces solar energy. He said that solar was already part of the farming operations, providing electricity for both his barn and home, but through this partnership with BlueWave, the farm will include a parcel of land where solar panels will share space with crops, known as dual-use solar, according to the report. 

The dual-use solar operation includes adjusting the heights of solar panels to allow farm operations, including workers, equipment, and grazing animals, to operate underneath them. Spacing and angles of the solar panels are adjusted to benefit crops growing below them—shielding them from the elements, including intense heat. Some of the panels will have cattle grazing beneath them while others will grow butternut squash and lettuce. 

The AgriSolar Clearinghouse will be touring the Knowlton Farm on August 10, 2022, as part of the Follow the Sun Tour. The tour is a series of hands-on field trips to see firsthand the benefits of co-locating sustainable agriculture and solar energy. Other locations on the tour include the Massachusetts Amherst South Deerfield research site and the Million Little Sunbeams family farm. 

US Solar Partners with T-Mobile on Minnesota Solar Gardens

US Solar and T-Mobile have partnered on 14 Solar Community Gardens in Minnesota. T-Mobile’s sunscription to US Solar’s Community Solar Garden means the company will benefit from local solar without upfront costs and equipment. The energy-cost savings will apply to seven Minnesota counties.  

Erica Forsman, Vice President of Origination at US Solar, stated, “We’re focused on providing solutions to our commercial partners that make it simple and beneficial to support local clean energy. We are excited to partner with T-Mobile and provide a renewable energy solution to support their industry-leading sustainability goals in Minnesota and across the nation,” according to Businesswire. 

US Solar also partners with Excel Energy, not only operate over 120MW of renewable energy to their grid but has implemented AgriSolar operations by planting pollinator-friendly vegetation on those sites. This pollinator-friendly vegetation on solar sites reduces stormwater runoff, enhances soil regeneration, and increases air quality in surrounding communities.   

Three of the Minnesota Community Solar Gardens began operation in late 2021, and the other 11 are in various stages of development and construction. In early 2021, T-Mobile became the first telecom to achieve their RE100 commitment to source 100% of their electric usage from renewable energy.     

Learn more here. 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Solar Leasing Guidebook and Workshops, Maryland Solar Bills, Australian AgriSolar

American Farmland Trust Announces Guidebook and Workshops for Solar Leasing 

American Farmland Trust, a stakeholder in the AgriSolar Clearinghouse, has announced they will offer virtual and in-person workshops designed to help ranchland and farmland owners understand the emerging solar-development field. 

“Solar energy development is accelerating rapidly in our region, and what we’re seeing is that farmland and rangeland owners are on the frontlines of this trend,” says Addie Candib, AFT Pacific Northwest Regional Director. “Many communities are wrestling with the question of whether – and where – solar should be built, but at some point, it will be up to the individual landowner to decide what’s in the long-term best interests for their business and their families. That’s what this project is about – helping farmers and ranchers to make informed decisions about the future of their land.” – American Farmland Trust 

Pair of Community Solar Bills Passes in Maryland 

“The Maryland legislature has taken steps towards strengthening its ongoing community solar pilot program, passing a pair of bills targeted at increasing the amount of eligible projects, and increasing the incentive for such projects to be developed. HB 1039 and HB 440 create tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects which serve low- and moderate-income customers on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills, as well as increasing maximum project capacity to 5 MW. The bills both build on regulatory action from 2021, which expanded the program to allow community solar to power the equivalent of an additional 6,840 Maryland homes, while also allowing community solar projects to be built on clean-fill construction sites, transforming previously unusable industrial locations into clean solar energy generation sites.” – PV Magazine 

Australian Solar Park will Host Crops in New AgriSolar Program 

“Italy’s Enel will launch an experimental agrivoltaics program at its 34 MW Cohuna Solar Farm in the Australian state of Victoria to help formulate a ‘best practices’ template for utility-scale solar PV sites in other countries. Enel Green Power Australia, a subsidiary of Italian energy giant Enel, will explore how to combine solar PV generation and agricultural production in a new research program to be undertaken at its Cohuna Solar Farm in northern Victoria. Much of the land near the Cohuna Solar Farm is home to sheep grazing operations. While ‘solar grazing’ is proving to be a popular form of land co-use for large-scale solar, other forms of agrivoltaics are emerging that support horticulture, viticulture, aquaculture and even cropping activities.” – PV Magazine 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Pastureland, Australian Grazing Quality, Regenerative Energy

Pastureland: Solar Panels and Sheep 

“Grazing by sheep and other livestock joins other dual uses: planting groundcover to benefit pollinators, growing marketable plants such as cherry tomatoes and lavender under the panels, installing beehives, and maximizing soil health practices to improve the land for later ag use. The use of solar sites for livestock grazing is still in its infancy, but flocks of sheep are already grazing contentedly under and around glass panels in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and New York. By welcoming the grazers, solar operators save money on land maintenance. After the cost of leasing the land, vegetation management is often their top expense.” – Bay Journal 

Solar Panels Increase Australian Grazing Quality During Drought 

“Two agrivoltaic installations in New South Wales, Australia, are being credited with increasing the quantity and quality of fleece in sheep grazing at the facilities during a drought. Research has indicated that the partial shade offered by solar panels creates a microclimate that reduces evaporation and significantly boosts the production of vegetation in arid climates. Researchers found that areas that were partially or fully covered by solar panels increased their biomass production by 90%.” – PV Magazine 

Silicon Ranch’s Regenerative Energy Program  

“Silicon Ranch founded a branch of its company dedicated to regenerative land management practices nearly four years ago and has found that a forward-looking, natural approach to solar project planning is proving fruitful in the long term. To address degraded soils and topsoil regeneration, Regenerative Energy gathers a seed mix of grasses native to that respective region and re-seeds the site. Given the length of the solar development process, seeds are ideally sown at least one year ahead of construction. Newly rooted plants will reintroduce stability to that soil.” – Solar Power World 

Australian Agrisolar Shows Grazing Sheep Under Solar Panels May Enhance Wool Production

Sheep grazing under solar panels in Australia’s South Wales has resulted in an increase in the quantity and quality of wool, says a report from ABC Rural. Local graziers are calling it a “win-win” situation. 

Grazier Graeme Ostini says his farm is now cutting “an amazing amount of wool.” And due to condensation from the solar panels, the sheep are able to graze almost entirely through the (Australian) drought years, says the report.  

Former grazier and farmer Tom Warren leases a portion of his land to a solar farm on which250 sheep graze under solar panels. Since leasing his land, his income has increased and the carrying capacity of his land has increased nearly 25%.  

“It’ll be because of the conditions the sheep are living in. It’s relatively clean, without burrs, without dust. There’s very, very little contamination of the wool and they’re protected from the sun as well,” said Warren. 

Madeline Taylor, energy policy and landholder rights researcher, said, “We’re starting to get a really good database of studies showing how the co-location of agriculture and photovoltaics can be done successfully. We’ve seen that it works really well for grazing. Now, believe it or not, cropping can also really work very well alongside solar energy,” according to ABC Rural. 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Australian Agrisolar, Floating Solar Panels, Biodiversity Impact Study

Agrisolar Will Continue on Former Australian Coal Plant Site

“The national CEFC and Octopus Australia said earlier this month that their joint venture (JV) is developing a 1.5GW renewable energy hub to help replace Victoria’s soon-to-retire Yallourn coal power plant. The pair said they will jointly develop Blind Creek Solar and Battery Project in Bungendore, New South Wales. The goal of Blind Creek is that it will co-locate renewable energy generation with regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration. Sheep grazing will continue to take place on the site.”  – Energy Storage News

Clean Energy Could see Floating Solar Panels as the Next Big Thing

“Floating solar is still a new way of approaching solar power compared to the land-based panels we’re used to, but it appears to have a lot of potential in areas where land for solar farms is scarce or there is simply an abundance of water. The more solar we install, on the ground, on rooftops or even on the seas, the less we’ll be reliant on fossil fuels.” Popular Science

New England PV Plant Will Study Solar Impact on Biodiversity

“The University of New England’s own 3.2MW solar farm is proving its worth in more ways than one, not only as an independent renewable energy source for the university, but also as the setting of a pilot study to better understand the impact of large-scale solar on biodiversity. The study aims to learn whether solar plants are useful habitats for wildlife and if simple land management strategies during construction could better cater to native species.” – PV Magazine

AgriSolar News Roundup: Australian AgriSolar Guide, Grid Access, Trans-Tasman AgriSolar 

Australian Guide to Agrisolar for Large-scale Solar Published by Clean Energy Council 

“As interest grows in agrisolar – using land for both agriculture and solar power – the Clean Energy Council has produced the Australian Guide to Agrisolar for Large-scale Solar to assist proponents of utility-scale solar and the landholders and farmers who work with them to integrate agricultural activities into solar farm projects.” – Renewable Energy Magazine 

Agrisolar: Solar Industry Hopes Farmers Will Help Solve Grid Access Problems  

“The Clean Energy Council says working with Australian farmers could help solve the growing problem of grid access for new large-scale solar farms, in a new paper promoting ‘agrisolar’” If done right, the paper argues solar farms can improve both grazing and crop land, while allowing solar farms to be built in areas where the electricity network is strong, providing a win-win for both solar developers and farmers.” – Renew Economy 

Dairies Powered By the Sun and Batteries: Trans-Tasman AgriSolar Start-up Gathers Pace 

“A New Zealand-based start-up offering dairy farmers cheap and reliable solar and battery-backed power purchase contracts has raised $4 million from an Australian-led investment round. Based in Christchurch, Solagri installs solar and batteries on dairy farms in the Canterbury region of New Zealand at no up-front cost, instead signing the farmers up to long-term PPAs guaranteed to supply 100% of their dairy sheds’ electricity needs.” – One Step off the Grid 

AgriSolar News Roundup: Connecticut Agrisolar, Agrisolar Lamb Production, New Solar Farm 

2 Connecticut Solar Farms Will Also Grow Crops 

“Connecticut-based Greenskies Clean Focus is bringing farming to solar fields across Connecticut. Following the recent green light from the Connecticut Siting Council, two new Greenskies solar power and agricultural co-use projects will break ground later this year in Orange and East Windsor. The solar array in Orange will act as a distributed energy resource facility benefiting the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) through a virtual net metering agreement.” – Solar Power World 

Australian Solar Farm Set to Co-exist with Existing Lamb Production 

“A potential 300MW solar farm with a 600MWh battery energy storage system founded by a group of local farmers in Bungendore, New South Wales, has gained backing from the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation and investment company Octopus Australia. As the project website details, the solar farm will co-exist with existing lamb production, which will be accommodated by placing the rows of panels around six meters apart, allowing for grazing as well as for the optimal performance of the planned single-axis tracking system.” – Renew Economy 

Solar Farm in Dunfermline Could Power Roughly 7,000 Homes 

“A new solar farm in Dunfermline will have the capacity to power 7,000 homes per year if it gets the green light. Plans for the energy park with 75,000 solar panels have been lodged with Fife Council at the former Lochhead open cast mine in Wellend. The company behind the application, Dunfermline Solar Ltd, part of AMPYR Solar Europe, says the plans will be a source of new low carbon power and supports the Scottish Government’s commitment to renewable energy.” – The Courier