Harvesting Sunshine: Photo voltaic is America’s Latest Money Crop

For generations, America’s farmers have used the solar to supply for his or her communities and assist the expansion of the nation. At this time, with the assistance of photo voltaic and storage applied sciences, agricultural communities are delivering each the meals that powers our our bodies and the clear vitality that powers our economic system.

The mixture of agriculture and photo voltaic vitality is called agrivoltaics and is among the fastest-growing purposes of photo voltaic right this moment. The Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory estimates that there are presently 2.8 GW of agrivoltaic websites within the U.S., with extra tasks coming on-line each week.

Whereas some nonetheless imagine photo voltaic improvement competes with agriculture, many communities are demonstrating simply how mutually useful photo voltaic might be to America’s farmlands and native economies.

A Higher Backside Line

Photo voltaic is a vital a part of the economics for a lot of farming operations.

Smaller residential photo voltaic arrays, owned by the landowner, can considerably scale back the electrical energy payments of a farm, usually protecting the electrical energy wants of barns, warehouses, gear, and the family.

Michigan State College discovered {that a} 10 kilowatt (kW) photo voltaic system might save the common farm about $1,880 per 12 months. Different farms, like dairy farms, have a extra vitality intensive operation and the identical 10 kW system might save a dairy farm almost $4,000 per 12 months. Mixed with federal incentives and USDA rural vitality packages, farms can save much more on upfront prices.

Alternatively, farmers can lease a part of their land to a utility-scale photo voltaic mission and obtain passive, assured earnings all 12 months spherical.

For household farms working on skinny margins, this earnings might be important.

Picture Courtesy of Lightsource bp.

Lightsource bp’s Elm Department and Briar Creek photo voltaic tasks in Texas delivered two new income streams to native farmers. The primary was within the type of lease funds. The second was a grazing contract for the farmers’ greater than 1,000 sheep. These sheep now management the expansion of grass on the positioning and keep cool underneath the shade of the panels.

Co-location Advantages

Farmers are additionally co-locating their crops and photo voltaic arrays to boost their agricultural manufacturing and promote biodiversity.

Photo voltaic arrays preserve crops cool, creating shade beneath their panels that may defend crops from excessive warmth. This results in higher crop yields and helps states keep meals manufacturing ranges.

Some high-value crops like broccoli, leafy greens, peppers, strawberries, and blueberries thrive in diminished mild situations. One research discovered that cherry tomato manufacturing doubled underneath photo voltaic panels and water effectivity was 65% larger.

Photo voltaic additionally supplies a really perfect atmosphere for pollinators and microbiomes that assist the long-term well being of the land. Retrofitting extra photo voltaic farms to accommodate pollinators might save farmers tens of millions of {dollars} each 12 months.

Preserving Water Sources

The shade from photo voltaic panels can even assist farmers preserve restricted water sources.

As temperatures climb, photo voltaic panels can present overhead safety for crops, livestock, and agricultural employees, serving to to scale back water evaporation and consumption.

Farmers additionally use freshwater reservoirs to assist with irrigation and photo voltaic farms can now float on prime of them. These methods, referred to as floatovoltaics, might save as much as 5.5 trillion gallons of water every year if simply 30% of freshwater reservoirs within the U.S. have been coated by photo voltaic panels.

From tomato fields within the Central Valley to ranches on the Nice Plains, agricultural communities of all styles and sizes are utilizing photo voltaic to economize and enhance manufacturing. As agrivoltaics grows in reputation, farmers will proceed to play an important position in feeding — and powering — America’s progress.

Courtesy of SEIA Comms Staff.