Energy Department Announces $8 Million for Agrivoltaic Research
The U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Energy Technologies Office has announced it award up to $8 million for agrivoltaic research through its Foundational Agrivoltaic Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) program. The research dollars are intended to examine how agrivoltaics can scale up to maximize land and increase farm revenue.
According to it’s funding announcement:
DOE expects to make between 4 and 6 awards under FARMS, each ranging from $1-2 million. SETO is interested in projects that partner with farmers who are pursuing climate-smart and sustainable agriculture and are considering agrivoltaics to enhance the economic efficiency and sustainability of these farms. Additionally, SETO is interested in projects that offer economic benefits to underserved communities in these farming areas.
This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) has three areas of interest:
- Integrated agriculture-energy impact studies that investigate how agrivoltaic designs impact both agriculture production and energy production;
- Socioeconomics of agrivoltaics research that studies how agrivoltaics can fit into existing agricultural communities and economies or enable new ones; and
- Resources for replicable and scalable agrivoltaics that lower the barrier of entry to agrivoltaics, making it easier for interested agricultural producers and solar developers to benefit from the opportunities that agrivoltaics provides.
Letters of interest are due June 1 at 5 p.m. See the full funding announcement here.
