The Inflation Mitigation Act provides billions of dollars in renewable energy funding that will accelerate the adoption of solar and other renewable energy. Some of the new solar panels will land on rooftops, but most will focus on large utility plants that the U.S. Department of Energy says could cover an area roughly the size of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. . .
Solar panels work best in light winds, moderate temperatures, and low humidity. Surfaces share some of these characteristics. But nothing duplicates this mix of traits quite like farmland. For solar developers looking to get the most out of their investment, Farm Country is irresistible.
For farmers, the attraction is mutual. Depending on the location, solar energy can be one of the most profitable uses on earth. Texas farmers can earn up to $ 500 per acre per year from solar leases, and farmers in California's Central Valley sometimes earn up to $ 1,000 per acre. That's easy money compared to complex and often uncertain agriculture.
But the potential scale of these new projects has shocked some farming communities as opposition grows and efforts to decarbonise American electricity are threatened.
Critics focus on the negative aspects of converting agricultural land to solar energy. The boards are usually placed 18-36 inches off the floor, which prevents access to the floor. Some don't like aesthetics and fear that giant solar panels will change the rural character of their communities. Meanwhile, social media-led false conspiracies about the facility's alleged adverse health effects are gaining momentum.
James McCall, a researcher at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said on a Denver call that growing opposition to solar energy in rural America is rightly or wrongly undermining progress on climate protection. "We need to find a solution that represents common ground," he said.
Brad Haines, a professor of animal science at the University of Minnesota, is working on a compromise. He is a leading researcher in the field of agricultural cells, a growing group of technologies and methods to exploit the synergies between energy production and agriculture. "We harvest the sun twice," says Hines as he opens the gate to a large cattle pasture in west-central Minnesota, near the borders of North and South Dakota.
The energy of the sun powers the pastures and crops together with the solar panels. "It's a two-tier gain for farmers," Haynes said. This can mean growing plants that thrive in the shade of the panels. Or, in Heins's case, this could mean cooling the cows in the shade of the panels instead of using expensive fans in the barn.
Haines and his colleagues are pioneers in this new field, but they are not alone. There are hundreds of agricultural projects underway in the United States. Some work better than others, and some may not work at all. But the best will lead to a greener and more profitable rural America for which renewable energy is a boon.
The idea that shading solar panels could increase agricultural productivity dates back to the early 1980s. Japan, a country long obsessed with its limited reserves of land and energy, was one of the first to discover the concept. The first known agricultural photovoltaic farm was established in 2004 and in 2019 there were 1,992 agricultural photovoltaic farms in the country.
For example, high-quality green tea, which is ground into matcha, is traditionally grown in the shade of nets for several weeks. Using these nets is not only a laborious process, it can also damage the buds of delicate and valuable plants. Agrivoltaico offers an alternative. Solar panels are carefully placed by farmers to provide shade, eliminating the need for grids and expensive labor to install them. Farmers who invest in the system save on production costs while earning with renewable energy and a premium crop that they can market as sustainable.
None of these Japanese systems were designed to cover grain fields in the Midwest or ranches in Texas that span thousands of acres. Most Japanese farms are smaller than 3 hectares and support the cultivation of high quality home crops that enjoy Japan's best markets. Your agricultural projects fit this model.
However, starting small is an opportunity to demonstrate the concept. In the United States, some of the most successful agricultural feeding pilots focus on hand-picked crops. In Arizona, researchers recently found that solar-powered tomato production doubled and was 65% more water-efficient. They also found that jalapeño plants were 167% more water efficient, although production remained the same. This is an important and economical view for agriculture in arid regions, especially when the climate is warm.
The benefits of tension farming are not only realized by farmers. Studies from Arizona found that solar panels grown under a garden stay cooler and produce more energy. This kind of synergy leads solar developers to take a closer look at collaborating with farmers and encourage new investments in rural solar systems.
The question now: Can technologies that have shown promise in small pilot projects and hand-picked farms be expanded enough to work for crops like corn and livestock and the communities in which they thrive?
"When I started here 12 years ago, I never thought I'd go into renewable energy," Hines told me, standing under a solar panel at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, Minnesota. He grew up in a dairy and after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, his research focused primarily on organic milk production. "But agriculture consumes a lot of energy," he said. In 2013, the research center began looking for ways to reduce its energy consumption. So, in addition to looking for efficiencies, the company has also started installing renewable energy systems, including solar panels.
Agrivoltaik has been there from the beginning. The center has traditional structures just a few centimeters from the ground. But there is also an additional cost to lift the panels several feet in the air. Standing under a pasture we share with the University of Minnesota-Morris, Heins points to the cows grazing on the other side of the pasture. "Cows don't do well in temperatures of 80 or 90 degrees," he said. Heat stress in cows increases body temperature and reduces milk production, among other problems. A common solution is to house the cows in a barn with fans. But you need electricity for that.
Hines and his colleagues tried a different approach: they raised the panels at least six feet high, enough to accommodate the cows looking for shade. The cows were quick to use it and in one study the cows stayed cooler and breathed slower. In other words, they were less stressed. "It's a big problem with dairy cows," says Haynes. Stressed dairy cows are less productive and ultimately less profitable. Hines told me he got calls from ranchers outside of Minnesota who wanted to see if their solar panels would be compatible with their herds.
It's not just Morris cows. On a morning visit, Hines and Esther Jordan, co-directors of the research center's horticulture department, showed me a variety of plants and crops they were trying to grow on this and other herbs under solar panels. There are good reasons to hope for this job. A recent study of agricultural projects at Yale University in Minnesota found that incorporating pollinator-friendly crops not only improves the efficiency of elevated solar panels, but can also extend the benefits to farms that rely on surrounding pollinators. It's the kind of result, along with the direct economic benefits of crop improvement, that could help overcome sun resistance on American farmland.
At the moment, the conversation is at an early stage. The agricultural sector remains, at least on a large scale, a research topic rather than a method of action. Plus, the hassle of lifting solar panels six to eight feet off the ground, instead of 18 inches, is a huge financial burden, especially when the price of steel is so high. Tougher, even eight feet isn't high enough to run many modern agricultural machinery. The large farms that make up much of American agriculture, and which rely on large machines for planting and harvesting, would not yet be candidates for these new technologies.
But these are short-term problems. Interest in agricultural cells is high and growing, McCall of the Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Laboratory tells me. He said he listens to landowners, state and local regulators and universities: "People who want to see these sites. There is a lot of interest in setting up pilot plants in local communities."
This is good news for rural communities looking for ways to diversify their economy, for farmers looking to add another source of income, and for anyone determined to see the US decarbonise its power grid. The farmer will not solve all the economic problems of the farming country nor will it guarantee the achievement of President Joe Biden's solar goals. But it's an important tool that solar growers and developers are starting to understand and use.
In the coming years, agricultural cells will force them to build more sustainable agricultural and energy systems. This is the reason for the long-standing optimism on farms and in rural America. Other authors on Bloomberg's opinion:
Amazingly, American Green Energy is a republic: Denning and Davis
Saving the planet is more important than saving the birds: Tyler Quinn
We must learn to love GM crops: Amanda Little
This column does not necessarily represent the views of publishers or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Adam Minter is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, which focuses on Asia, technology and the environment. Most recently, he is the author of the book "Used: Journeys in the New World Garage Sale".
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