Written by the Center for Rural Affairs, this report reveals the benefits of mixing solar power and native vegetation. The report identifies types of solar projects, including residential, community-scale and utility-scale and their relations to native bees, monarch butterflies, pheasants and quail and soil and water quality. In the report, there is a plan available for those looking to optimize the health of native plants for the benefit of pollinators. The study discussed here also covers seed-mix selection, methods for seeding the vegetation and managing the site(s) afterwards.
Tag Archive for: Solar
This report highlights the benefits, value, and policy considerations of pollinator-friendly solar. It also explains methods to building a pollinator-friendly site. The report covers planning, costs and seeding practices as well as timing impacts for wildlife and pollinators. Policy considerations for public and private stakeholders are also discussed in this report.
This resource highlights how solar companies can provision pollinator-friendly solar through a company’s standard procurement process and provides purchase agreement language for pollinator and agriculturally friendly solar. The report provides details for planning consideration for the land under and around solar energy developments which is often overlooked. Addressing the details associated with this concern will aid in addressing climate and biodiversity crisis concurrently.
This paper presents a case study of plant-pollinator interactions at a solar energy generation site in southwestern Oregon, a water-limited, dryland ecosystem. The study focuses on plant-pollinator interactions at a solar-energy generation site in southwestern Oregon, a water-limited, dryland ecosystem.
The results of this study show that this data can inform agriculture and pollinator health advocates as they seek land for pollinator-habitat restoration in target areas, as well as local solar developers and homeowners deciding how to manage land beneath solar arrays.
This fact sheet provides tips, facts, and guidance on a variety of agrivoltaic-related practices for solar projects and native vegetation in Iowa. The fact sheet includes information on how to add product value, planning, cost, seeding, management, and construction. The resource also provides examples of native seed mixes for the region of Iowa. Also included in this fact sheet are a short summary of best practices for agrivoltaic operations in Iowa.
This report importantly provides a critical lens through which the importance of policy and land use analysis is justified as a response to conflicting community feedback about the agriculture-solar shift. The findings of this report are particularly relevant for the LACDRP, the client, as the agency has been tasked with identifying opportunities to preserve agriculture across the County and supporting local renewable energy resources. The agency will use the findings of this report to guide updates to the Los Angeles County General Plan and the Los Angeles County Climate Action Plan. This could serve as a guide for the future development of agrivoltaic operations in similar geographic locations with similar concerns related to housing and agricultural land use situations.
The North American Center for Saffron Research and Development is conducting a multi-year study of saffron crops grown under and adjacent to ground-mounted solar arrays. The study, which began in 2015, includes two years of field data from the iSun solar field (formerly Peak Electric) in Burlington, Vermont.
Researchers established the saffron corms in three locations within the solar field: in the aisles; directly under the solar panels; and around the perimeter of the arrays. These three locations include both raised beds and in-ground planting methods.
Saffron is a perennial crop suitable for sunny locations in arid and semi-arid regions. It is relatively resistant to cold. Yields typically increase for three years after planting, often increasing exponentially between the second and third years. Saffron is a high-value crop, with values ranging from $19-$55/gram retail. It is also a hand-harvested crop, making it well-suited for agrivoltaics.
In the first year of the field trial, the saffron yield was low, as expected for newly planted saffron corms, with a higher yield in the raised bed plots. The second year of the trial produced higher-than-average yields, with some plots producing yields three times higher –than averages.
Highest yields occurred in the lots located in the aisle and around the perimeter of the solar panels, with yields of 17 pounds of saffron/acre, which would be equal to $192,775/acre at an average price of $25/gram.
The plots directly under the solar panels did not show this increase in production. These plots showed a 30% decrease in yield, indicating that the area under the panels is not an ideal micro climate for saffron production. Figure 1 shows the average yield of the harvested saffron per acre during the field trial.
Figure 1. Average yield of harvested saffron per acre during 2019 and 2020. (Ghalehgolabbehbahani et al., 2022)
Research will continue at this facility and the AgriSolar Clearinghouse will plan a field trip for the public in the fall of 2022. The annual report for this study is available in the Information Library here.
Reference
Ghalehgolabbehbahani et al., 2022. Saffron and Solar Farms: A Win/Win for Environment and Agriculture. North American Center for Saffron Research and Development, Burlington VT.
The vulnerabilities of food, energy and water systems to projected climatic change make building resilience in renewable energy and food production a fundamental challenge. Researchers investigate a novel approach to solve this problem by creating a hybrid of collocated agriculture and solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure. They took an integrative approach—monitoring microclimatic conditions, PV panel temperature, soil moisture and irrigation water use, plant ecophysiological function and plant biomass production within this ‘agrivoltaics’ ecosystem and in traditional PV installations and agricultural settings to quantify trade-offs. They found that shading by the PV panels provides multiple additive and synergistic benefits, including reduced plant drought stress, greater food production and reduced PV panel heat stress. This study represents the first experimental and empirical examination of the potential for an agrivoltaic system to positively impact each component of the food–energy–water nexus. The results from a dryland system indicate a reduction in daytime temperatures of the solar panels (energy) and microclimate under the panels (food), and a dampening in the diurnal fluctuations of each and day-to-day fluctuations in soil moisture in irrigated agriculture (water). Together, our findings suggest that a dryland agrivoltaic system may be a resilient energy and food system that has reduced vulnerabilities to future climate variability. However, there are probable barriers to wider adoption, which include challenges associated with some forms of mechanized farming and harvest and the additional costs associated with elevating PV arrays to allow for food production in the understorey. An integrated approach to the physical and social dimensions of our food and energy systems is key in supporting decision making regarding PV development and sustainable food and energy production in a changing world
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the launch of the Rural Energy Pilot Program, which will make $10 million available to rural communities to help develop renewable energy projects, according to a press release from the agency.
Applicants may submit a letter of intent on or before April 19, 2022, and submit a completed application no later than July 18, 2022.
According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, “under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, USDA is providing grant assistance for people who live in particularly undeserved rural towns to help them cut their household energy costs and address climate change at the local level. As we continue to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, USDA is targeting resources and investments to help meet our nation’s energy needs and combat climate change.”
Up to 20% of the funding may be used for technical assistance, energy efficiency and weatherization, capacity building and community energy planning. Also, priority points are given to projects that directly advance the key priorities of the presidential administration.
A guide to submitting a letter of intent, as well as other details of the application process, provided by the USDA, can be found here.
For more information, visit the USDA Rural Energy Pilot Program webpage.
The Montgomery Sheep Farm in North Carolina might be taking mixed use to another level. Not only is it a working sheep farm, it also offers a bed and breakfast for two-legged guests, breeds dogs, and is now using solar to power the entire operation. A WFAE reporter recently visited the farm and reports the farm’s 20-megawatt solar array has not only provided it with additional income related to clean energy, but keeps workers employed and has reduced costs.
One important solar benefit is a reduction in maintenance costs. The grass under the solar panels no longer needs to be cut, thanks to the sheep who graze under the solar panels on a rotating schedule. This not only reduces costs, but also allows the farm to raise more lambs per acre.
“We can have many more lambs per acre than if you put them on a normal pasture because of the solar panels,” Joel Olsen told WFAE, owner of the Montgomery Sheep Farm.
Olsen says another big benefit is the shade provided by the solar panels. The shade not only provides cool areas for the sheep during hot summer days, but it helps the grass grow thicker which means more food for the sheep. This thick grass is much more suitable for the sheep than grass typically grown in an open field, according to Olsen.
The farm currently operates on 200 acres, raising sheep, chickens, and horses. Roughly 400 sheep are rotated on a weekly basis under the solar panels in 30 designated grazing areas.
“If you can provide farmers additional income related to clean energy, additional income related to grounds maintenance, you know, it allows our rural areas to remain beautiful and have the people living there to remain employed,” Olsen said.
To learn more about the Montgomery Sheep Farm in North Carolina, listen to WFAE’s story, here.
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