Common Ground for Agriculture and Solar Energy: Federal Funding Supports Research and Development in Agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaics is the combination of solar panels and agricultural production at the same location. Traditionally agrivoltaics referred to systems with crops—typically fruits or vegetables—grown under solar panels, but the term has evolved to include combining solar panels with grazing livestock (mainly sheep) and planting native grasses or pollinator habitat beneath solar panels. The practice was developed in part to allow for expanded solar development to address climate change without the land-use challenges often associated with large-scale solar operations. Federal agencies, including USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy have provided funding to this emerging sector. The funding provided by DOE more than tripled from 2021 to 2022 (see chart) and included $8 million through a new initiative focused on examining the benefits of agrivoltaics for farmers and rural communities.