Can rural photovoltaic panels be sold now

By 2050, ground-based solar could need about 0.5% of the land in the contiguous U.S. To put this into perspective, about 5% of land is already in urban areas and roads and another 0.1% in golf courses. Agriculture occupies about 43% of the lower forty-eight states surface area.

Agrivoltaics pairs solar with agriculture, creating energy and providing space for crops, grazing, and native habitats under and between panels. NREL studies economic and ecological tradeoffs of agrivoltaic systems. To meet renewable energy goals by installing large-scale solar operations, agricultural land may be taken out of food production .

Agrivoltaics – the co-location of solar energy installations and agriculture beneath or between rows of photovoltaic panels – has the potential to help ease this land-use conflict. To address climate change, the Biden-Harris Administration set a goal to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035.

Farmers can benefit from solar energy in several ways—by leasing farmland for solar; installing a solar system on a house, barn, or other building; or through agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is defined as agriculture, such as crop production, livestock grazing, and pollinator habitat, located underneath solar panels and/or between rows of solar .

For over nine years, researchers from NREL’s Innovative Solar Practices Integrated with Rural Economies and Ecosystems (InSPIRE) project have been researching the colocation of solar and agriculture as part of research funded through the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office.

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6 FAQs about [Can rural photovoltaic panels be sold now ]

Should land use be transferred to solar panels?

The decision to transfer agricultural land use to solar panel electrical production (solar farms) should be made by careful examination of immediate and long-term potential risks and benefits.

Should solar energy be located on farmland?

Locating solar energy on farmland could significantly increase the available land for solar development, while maintaining land in agricultural production and expanding economic opportunities for farmers, rural communities, and the solar industry.

Will agricultural land be used for solar energy?

Agricultural land in the U.S. has the technical potential to provide 27 terawatts of solar energy capacity. This is a quarter of the total U.S. solar energy capacity of 115 TW. Only 0.3% of farmland is expected to be used for solar energy by 2035. Will using land for solar panels drive up the price of food?

What is agrivoltaics and how can it benefit the solar industry?

For the solar industry, agrivoltaics has the potential to facilitate siting of solar installations, improve solar PV panel performance by cooling the panels, and lower operations and maintenance costs by limiting the need for mowing.

Is agrivoltaics more expensive than traditional solar development?

Agrivoltaics is not always more expensive than traditional solar development, but certain configurations can be more complex for planning and permitting. A successful agrivoltaics project requires two or more groups who often have very different priorities—the farmer or land manager and the solar developer—to find a solution that works for both.

Could agrivoltaics be a solution?

Combining agriculture and solar on the same piece of land might be a solution, which is why DOE is funding $15 million in research on how agrivoltaics could work for farmers, the solar industry, and communities. Agrivoltaics is still a nascent business model.

Can rural photovoltaic panels be sold now