The Food Group’s Post

There's a new solar trend on the horizon- agrivoltaics. It's the practice of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation. Learn more about this new practice and why it's becoming popular here: https://lnkd.in/dvag82mK

Give the sheep what they want! '“You can reduce heat stress to plants by watering them more or shading them some,” Higgins said. “If you shade them some—which is what you’re going to do, for example, in a Wyoming project that’s on non-irrigated lands—you’re going to reduce some of that heat stress on those plants. Those plants tend to grow a little more, and as they grow a little more, the sheep take advantage of them.” The study found that, while the sheep grazing near the solar panels experienced a 38 percent drop in the quantity of grazable vegetation, that was offset by an increase in the available plants’ quality, as measured by the nutritional makeup of the vegetation’s tissue. Despite having access to less vegetation, the sheep grazing near solar panels “were gaining weight at their maximum rate,” and reached similar peak weights to sheep on the open field, Higgins said. “We actually had to fence the sheep in the open field to keep them in the open field, because, given the choice, they all preferred to be in the solar.”' #farmers #sheep #shade #climatesolutions #agrovoltaics #sheepapproved

Exciting news Thursday about an agreement to seek agreement about solar siting from Stanford, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and the Nature Conservancy. Great to see agreement, though the time-frame provokes some angst: the aim is 2 years of study, at which point they will assess and continue to study. Among other things, the agreement promises to protect agricultural lands. They do remind us of some useful numbers on that topic, though, e.g. US solar will require perhaps 0.05% of contiguous US land (10 m acres at 5-10 ac/MW); whereas agricultural activities occupy 52% (984 m ac). Of that, btw, 169 m ac is corn and soybeans (17% of all ag lands, grazing land included), so solar would require about 6% of corn/soybean acres. Since those corn/soybean acres don't produce a lot of farm-community jobs, but they do have costs (irrigation, fuel, glyphosate, nitrogen, soil erosion, habitat loss, farmer debt, farm consolidation), I do wonder about the environmental community's emergent and collective enthusiasm for commodity agriculture. Still, godspeed to the much needed effort! https://lnkd.in/guV9Jyuy

From its vast, fruit-filled orchards to its plentiful vineyards and wineries, the Yakima Valley region in eastern Washington boasts robust agricultural activity. Land use and environmental protection are central priorities for the people who live there, and, as such, residents take vetting and approval of planned developments — as well as their developers — very seriously. When conducting initial research and outreach for the BrightNight Hop Hill Project in Benton County, Washington, Vice President of Development Christopher Wissel-Tyson understood how protective its community is of the land, how it’s being utilized, and by whom. “In our conversations with the local community, we realized that keeping productive land in use was very important. For that reason, with the Hop Hill Project we’re pursuing a dual use of the land. Specifically for this project, our solar panels are only covering 28-30% of the ground. The rest of that ground can be used for grazing and production,” he shared. The BrightNight Hop Hill Project will be co-located with 3000 acres of productive grazing land, which will generate over 500 MW for local and regional consumption. “We believe if we work together, we can bring valuable energy to Benton County and the surrounding region, as well as a valuable agricultural resource to the local neighbors and community.” See how we’re partnering with local landowners to build a high-value agrivoltaics solar and power storage project that meets Yakima Valley’s sustainable energy needs: https://lnkd.in/eAUTDr4C

Intersting WMS yesterday seeking to balance solar energy generation with protecting the best and most versatile agricultural land. All within the banner of protecting the countryside and using all that (available ???) brownfield land. What’s your thoughts folks? Extract: “We are taking further steps today to make sure we can get that balance right. I want to see more solar on rooftops and where that’s not possible, for agricultural land to be protected; and for the cumulative impact on local villages to be considered where they are facing a high number of solar farm applications.”

Agrivoltaics is an ideal use for bifacial panels. The increased production from ground albedo and filtered light under the array are a win-win!

Agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy systems with crop production or animal grazing, solves at least two critical needs. Solar provides renewable energy to mitigate climate change while meeting global energy demands, and crops grown alongside solar help feed the population. Pairing solar with agriculture has proven to be mutually beneficial for both farmers and solar developers. Read more about how Republicans and Democrats came together in 2023 to introduce legislation to promote agrivoltaics. https://lnkd.in/ggWh9t5K

Wyoming, not a state known for its acceptance of #renewableenergy, has seen a recent uptick in #agrivoltaics projects! Agrivoltaics is the combination of ranching or agriculture with the placement of ground-level solar panels. Read more about how agrivoltaics have become accepted in the Cowboy State in the article below!

The article discusses the emerging concept of agrivoltaics, the practice of simultaneously using land for agriculture and solar energy generation. Olivia Halbur, a farmer in Wisconsin, exemplifies this concept by raising Texel sheep on her family farm while hosting a small-scale solar array. Agrivoltaics is gaining attention as a solution to land use concerns around solar development in rural areas. While there is currently no policy in Wisconsin to encourage agrivoltaics, research initiatives and partnerships between universities, utilities, and developers aim to explore its feasibility. Agrivoltaics presents an opportunity to meet renewable energy goals without sacrificing agricultural land, potentially benefiting both the environment and rural economies. https://lnkd.in/eGh2JuXE