As solar companies seek more land to install solar panel farms and farmers see decreasing profits, a symbiotic relationship has formed in farmlands all across the country.
Known as agrivoltaics, it is the practice in which agricultural production (whether livestock, crops, or supporting pollination) occurs in the same space where solar panels capture energy.
The concept has existed since the 1980s, but it’s really picked up steam in recent years as higher institutions such as Cornell University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst conduct research.
The Energy Department has its own initiative, the InSPIRE program, which is overseeing 22 project sites in the United States.
Just this year, the department launched the Large Animal and Solar System Operations Prize valued at $8 million. It gives academic institutions, tribes, and nonprofit organizations the chance to develop and research the partnership created between…
