Let there be light: The rise of high-tech farming and the light revolution

Capital Press, August 21, 2020:

(Excerpt)

Common ground

Outdoor producers are also innovating with light. One such experimental field is called “agrivoltaics.” 

At the intersection of farming and solar energy, historically a place of conflict, renewable energy leaders and farmers are developing partnerships and finding, quite literally, common ground.

Dual-purpose solar sites — for agriculture and energy production — are gaining popularity in Italy, Germany and Japan, but are still a rarity in the U.S.

Chad Higgins, professor of biological and ecological engineering at Oregon State University, is one of the nation’s leading agrivoltaics experts.

In one study, Higgins found the shade created by solar panels tripled water use efficiency in a sheep pasture.

This summer, Higgins’ research team completed another study with sheep grazing among panels. Early results show the lambs drank less water in the shade, preferred to graze underneath the panels, appeared less stressed and the pasture had a higher stocking rate.

Higgins said landowners can also benefit from lease payments from energy companies; experts told the Capital Press they have seen lease rates range from $800 to 1,500 per acre per year. (…)

Also, Higgins said, most companies build panels with energy production as the primary goal and overlook landowners’ needs. Higgins said he believes panels should designed with the farmer’s needs in mind — such as being able to pass underneath with a tractor.

Higgins said a company called Stracker Solar is making solar panels with agriculture in mind.

“It’s like Yoda: ‘unlearn what you’ve learned.’ These solar arrays don’t look anything like what you’ve seen before,” said Higgins.