Blog By: Abbey Norvell
Conversations about utilizing renewable energy sources as an alternative to nonrenewable energy sources in America have been ongoing for decades.[i] Though solar energy made its debut in 1839, the United States did not begin largely investing in renewable energy sources until oil crises in 1973 and 1979.[ii] In 1983, just a few years after the energy crises, America’s first industrial-scale solar farm was built in California.[iii] As of 2019, renewable energy sources have more capacity than coal, meaning renewable energy is “capable of generating more electricity than coal is.”[iv]
In addition to the recent drive to utilize renewable energy sources, a growing global population reveals a demand for more food.[v] The global population is “estimated to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050.”[vi] In order to meet that demand, food production needs to double.[vii] So, what is the solution to an increasing need for renewable energy and food security?
The problem is not necessarily with what renewable energy sources are available, but with how America uses the renewable energy sources available. Currently, the majority of solar panels are installed with “single seed turf or bare ground beneath the panels.”[viii] Neither single seed turf nor bare ground provides a strong foundation for growing crops or nurturing wildlife.[ix] Cultivating beneficial agriculture under solar panels provides an ideal solution to the aforementioned problems created by single seed turf and bare ground under solar panels.[x] A practice commonly referred to as “agrivoltaics” combines the use of both solar panels and agriculture on the same land.[xi] Agrivoltaics consists of building solar panels about seven to ten feet off the ground, instead of on the ground, in order to produce agriculture beneath the panels.[xii] Spaces are left between panels to provide both sun and shade to vegetation underneath the panels.[xiii] The “shade pattern” will move throughout the day to maximize sunlight reflection.[xiv]
The practice of agrivoltaics has been coined by many as a “win-win-win relationship” because of the benefits it provides.[xv] The practice of agrivoltaics generates numerous benefits, including increased crop yields, crop protection, better soil, and increased habitat.[xvi] A study conducted by the University of Arizona showed that crop growth under the shade of solar panels yielded results of “two or three times more vegetable and fruit production than conventional agriculture.”[xvii] Crops protected by solar panels are “less vulnerable to extreme weather events,” including “hailstorms, high winds, and severe cold and heat.”[xviii] Plants grown under solar panels cause the temperature of solar panels to decrease, making the solar panels themselves more productive.[xix] Studies conducted by Oregon State University show that solar panels “positioned above plants produce up to 10% more electricity.”[xx]
Another benefit flowing from agrivoltaics practice is the economic opportunity for farming families.[xxi] Farmers could lease their farmland to solar developers, thus providing farmers with a more stable income and “much-needed degree of economic security” during unsteady times.[xxii] Family farms would benefit from such a revenue-generating opportunity, as studies showed a 23% increase in farm bankruptcies from March 2019-March 2020.[xxiii]
Considering the novelty of agrivoltaics in the United States, variables related to implementing the practice of agrivoltaics remain.[xxiv] Benefits of agrivoltaics are expansive and real, but the benefits will vary depending on the location of farmland, climate of farmland and types of plants grown.[xxv] Another concern is increased costs, considering that solar farms usually cost upwards of $1 million per megawatt.[xxvi] While cost is a concern, the cost of solar panels significantly decreased over the past decade.[xxvii] The remaining variables only show a more dire need for increased research and incentives.
Researchers found that the United States “should be spending between $8-30 billion” annually to research renewable energy sources, but only actually spends about $3.5 billion annually on such research.[xxviii] Despite these numbers, recent developments show the federal government trending towards supporting renewable energy.[xxix] On September 28, 2023, the United States Department of Energy issued a “$3 billion partial loan guarantee” to a project set to make distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar, available to Americans and create jobs in the process.[xxx] The United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed the Clean Power Plan of 2015, which called for a drastic generation-shift from coal to cleaner forms of energy and was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court, and a recent rule proposal that would impose Clean Air Act emission limits to control fossil fuel production plants.[xxxi] Recent actions are a positive sign for renewable energy sources moving forward, but the United States should be doing more to promote agrivoltaics.
Other countries, including Japan, Germany, France, and China, have implemented the practice of agrivoltaics and experienced success.[xxxii] Japan’s implementation of 2,000 agrivoltaic installations “currently generate more than 200 megawatts of electricity,” which is “enough to power more than 32,000 homes—and provide cover for more than 120 kinds of crops.”[xxxiii] Following the implementation of a solar park in China, China revitalized the growth of goji berries, “an ingredient in traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese medicine,” and increased the number of small wild animals, such as sparrows and hares.[xxxiv]
Promoting the practice of agrivoltaics in America starts with incentivizing farmers.[xxxv] The United States should encourage the use of agrivolatics nationally by offering more substantial grants and tax breaks for farmers who implement the practice of agrivoltaics on their farms. The increase of agrivoltaics nationally would undoubtedly promote food security and renewable energy, thus benefiting Americans across the nation.
[i] Going green: The history of re“new”able energy, Iowa State Univ., Inst. for Transp. (May 26, 2015), https://intrans.iastate.edu/news/going-green-the-history-of-renewable-energy/ [https://perma.cc/HA92-NNFD].
[ii] Id.
[iii] The Oldest Solar Farm in the US, LandGate Res. (Apr. 21, 2023), https://landgate.com/news/2023/04/21/the-oldest-solar-farm-in-the-us/#:~:text=The%20First%20Solar%20Farm%20on,Richfield%20oil%20company%20(ARCO) [https://perma.cc/E9BQ-HD2F].
[iv] Jeff Turrentine, In Other News, Renewables Just Passed Coal on the Energy Capacity Racetrack, Nat. Res. Def. Council (June 21, 2019), https://www.nrdc.org/stories/other-news-renewables-just-passed-coal-energy-capacity-racetrack [https://perma.cc/TPD6-Z3X5].
[v] Sustainable Farm Agrivoltaic, Or. State Univ., Coll. of Agric. Sci. (2022), https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/newsroom/sustainable-farm-agrivoltaic [https://perma.cc/84ED-HJG4].
[vi] Id.
[vii] Id.
[viii] Agrivoltaics 101, Colo. Agrivoltaic Learning Ctr. (2023), https://www.coagrivoltaic.org/agrivoltaics-101 [https://perma.cc/U5D6-5T2Y].
[ix] Id.
[x] Id.
[xi] Id.
[xii] Cookson Beecher, Agrivoltaics scores impressive triple win, but some food safety concerns remain, Food Safety News (Mar. 22, 2021), https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/03/agrivoltaics-scores-impressive-triple-win-but-some-food-safety-concerns-remain/#:~:text=A%20recent%20OSU%20study%20estimates,help%20keep%20farmland%20in%20production [https://perma.cc/4USR-GKYG].
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Sustainable Farm Agrivoltaic, supra note v.
[xvi] Agrivoltaics 101, supra note viii.
[xvii] Emiliano Bellini, Food crops do better in the shade of solar panels, pv mag. (Sept. 3, 2019), https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/09/03/food-crops-do-better-in-the-shade-of-solar-panels/ [https://perma.cc/THV5-NZUL].
[xviii] Jeff Turrentine, Made in the Shade: The Promise of Farming with Solar Panels, Nat. Res. Def. Council (Feb. 23, 2022), https://www.nrdc.org/stories/made-shade-promise-farming-solar-panels [https://perma.cc/KU6Q-Q5LD].
[xix] Sustainable Farm Agrivoltaic, supra note v.
[xx] Id.
[xxi] Agrivoltaics 101, supra note viii.
[xxii] Turrentine, supra note xviii.
[xxiii] Jacqui Fatka, Farm bankruptcies up 23% even before COVID-19 fallout, Feedstuffs (May 8, 2020), https://www.feedstuffs.com/agribusiness-news/farm-bankruptcies-up-23-even-before-covid-19-fallout [https://perma.cc/RJW4-CFT3].
[xxiv] Turrentine, supra note xviii.
[xxv] Id.
[xxvi] Solar Farm Land Requirements, Transect (2023), https://www.transect.com/resources/solar-farm-land-requirements [https://perma.cc/RK4A-XTU5].
[xxvii] Beecher, supra note xii.
[xxviii] Going green: The history of re“new”able energy, supra note i.
[xxix] Turrentine, supra note xviii.
[xxx] Jigar Shah, DOE Announces $3 Billion Partial Loan Guarantee to Sunnova’s Project Hestia, U.S. Dep’t of Energy, Loan Programs Off. (Sept. 28, 2023), https://www.energy.gov/lpo/articles/doe-announces-3-billion-partial-loan-guarantee-sunnovas-project-hestia [https://perma.cc/5UBJ-2YF6].
[xxxi] West Virginia v. EPA, 142 S.Ct. 2587 (2022); Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants, U.S. EPA, https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power (last updated Aug. 3, 2023) [https://perma.cc/LRS4-AZSY].
[xxxii] Agrivoltaics 101, supra note viii.
[xxxiii] Turrentine, supra note xviii.
[xxxiv] Emiliano Bellini, Giant agrivoltaic project in China, pv mag. (Sept. 3, 2020), https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/03/giant-agrivoltaic-project-in-china/ [https://perma.cc/9GZC-QPEB].
[xxxv] Turrentine, supra note xviii.