AgriSolar News Roundup: Solar and Taxes in NC, Dutch Agrisolar Research, Agrivoltaics in Maine  

Solar Projects Increase Tax Revenue in North Carolina 

“Proposed large-scale solar facilities continue to draw opposition in North Carolina from critics who argue that swaths of panels are blights on the landscape and threaten farms in a state where agriculture is the leading industry. But those facilities have become a financial boon to local communities, particularly in rural areas with limited sources of tax revenue, a newly released study from the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association found.” – Greensboro 

Dutch Research Studies Agrisolar  

“During a four-year pilot project, Dutch independent research organization TNO, in collaboration with Vattenfall and Aeres University of Applied Sciences (UAS), is developing a sun-tracking algorithm that monitors various factors, such as crop yield, energy yield and the effects of herb strips, weather forecast, energy price and soil condition.” – Vattenfall 

Small Farms in Maine are Good Candidate for Agrivoltaics 

“Maine’s prevalence of small farms with low-lying, hand-harvested crops makes the state a good candidate for blending solar energy and food production on the same land, but farmers may not take the risk without funding for pilot projects. 

Maine may be uniquely positioned for this emerging field, known as agrivoltaics or dual-use solar. Nationally, most successful projects so far have involved extras like solar grazing or pollinator habitat alongside panels at small farms with low-lying, hand-harvested crops — precisely the type of farms that dominate much of Maine’s agricultural sector.” – Energy News