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Last Update: 09/19/2026 at 11:33 PM EST
Farming Under Solar Panels
Coverage from Civil Eats, Solar Now, and others
Agrivoltaics combines elevated or specially configured solar arrays with farming, grazing, or related land-management activities.
Research and pilot projects report potential benefits including reduced soil moisture loss, lower heat exposure, supplementary farm income, and continued agricultural production, but results vary by crop, panel design, climate, and operating practices. The approach is also being considered as a way to reduce farmland opposition to solar development, while higher construction costs, permitting disputes, and uncertain long-term farm performance remain significant constraints.
Looking Back
236 Day Timeline
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History
09/03/2026
The story now extends beyond agricultural production into desert ecosystem restoration and worker/equipment heat exposure, while legislative and permitting considerations become more prominent. New named research and policy actors also broaden the stakeholder landscape.
07/23/2026
The story has broadened from general agrivoltaics experimentation into a more specific, current picture of early commercial deployment and active U.S. research sites. The main emphasis also shifts toward clearer limits: stronger evidence for grazing and specialty crops, but continued uncertainty for large mechanized row-crop systems.
All Articles34 articles
Important
US solar developers are being urged to manage agricultural soils, vegetation, and grazing systems beneath utility-scale photovoltaic arrays across rural America.
9/16/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Arizona SALSA lab researchers test agrivoltaics in Arizona and report cooler panels and reduced heat exposure for farm crews.
7/6/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
In Virginia, legislators in 2025–2026 propose multiple bills to guide agrivoltaic and utility-scale solar siting as counties continue rejecting many projects.
1/31/2026 • Policy, Politics & Governance • General
Farmers and solar developers are expanding agrivoltaic projects in 2025 across U.S. agricultural regions, while USDA funding restrictions and local opposition complicate renewable-energy siting.
9/2/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Arizona State University researchers report crustivoltaics field results showing increased desert biocrust biomass and cover beneath solar photovoltaic panels.
7/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Our Table Cooperative in south of Portland, Oregon, installs the Lettuce Shine agrivoltaics system to manage crop shade and generate power amid regional warming.
4/24/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Interesting
Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation deploys agrivoltaics at nearly 200 MW in Batangas, Philippines, guided by Tarlac trials testing turmeric under solar PV.
7/4/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Agrivoltaics project designs are evaluated by crop-specific farm performance, cost, and repeat adoption, with grazing under standard PV identified as most scalable.
7/4/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
SALSA continues agrivoltaics research in Arizona after foundation funding replaces USDA and DOE support, linking farmworker heat protection with solar generation.
6/15/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Arizona researchers studying agrivoltaics in Casa Grande, Arizona report shaded solar arrays can lower skin temperatures and water use for crops.
7/5/2026 • Adaptation & Resilience • General
Studies across Italy, Canada, and Brazil assess agrivoltaics productivity, while China and the US expand solar grazing and mapped site inventories in 2024.
4/15/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Doral and Kibbutz Ma'ale Gilboa harvested 30 tons of grapes under solar panels on Mount Gilboa, Israel, demonstrating agrivoltaics for heat-stressed farming.
7/27/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Virginia Senate Bill 340 defines agrivoltaics as solar panels enable concurrent farming and drought-related water savings while renewable capacity expands for data center demand.
6/30/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Agrivoltaics deployment in the United States combines solar PV generation and crop production to improve land use efficiency while providing farm energy and potential yield support.
6/27/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
RESET materials for Wisconsin community solar siting address farmland impacts, visual mitigation, and agrivoltaics practices including sheep grazing.
5/25/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
U.S. solar farms adopting agrivoltaics and irrigation shading in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Arizona, and Texas aim to improve crop conditions and biodiversity outcomes alongside electricity generation.
5/24/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Linda Hezel tests a 9.7-kilowatt agrivoltaics solar array in Kearney, Missouri to reduce extreme-heat crop losses.
5/6/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Iowa State University researchers report first year agrivoltaics results at the Alliant Energy Solar Farm in Iowa in 2024.
2/28/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Byron Kominek's Jack's Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado, combines crop production and solar electricity generation to improve farm income and resilience under hotter, drier conditions.
8/9/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Byron Kominek launched Jack's Solar Garden near Longmont, Colorado, in 2016 to combine solar generation with agrovoltaic crops amid hotter, drier growing seasons.
7/20/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Wisconsin-Madison began 2025 agrivoltaics research at Kegonsa to test solar panel spacing effects on crops, grazing, and land-atmosphere measurements in Wisconsin.
7/1/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Michigan State University Extension hosts a webinar series on agrivoltaics to share research and best practices for farming within solar arrays in Michigan.
1/1/1900 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Bonn researchers surveyed nearly 2,000 adults in Germany and found higher willingness to pay for agrivoltaic solar than for conventional open-land solar parks.
7/6/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Bonn survey results in Germany suggest agrivoltaics could gain more support than conventional solar parks for European solar expansion.
7/6/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Researchers mapped 25 years of California land use and solar footprints to compare full conversion with partial solar-crop colocation and evaluate financial and water effects.
6/27/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Agrivoltaics advocates in the United States promote solar-on-farm deployment as communities add siting restrictions and solar grant support declines.
5/22/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
In central Illinois, Pivot Energy agrivoltaics sites use sheep grazing to manage solar vegetation while landowners seek income diversification and rural acceptance.
5/19/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Bryant Parker and Jessica Parker in Dunlap, Illinois deploy sheep grazing under a 7.1-megawatt solar farm to support agrivoltaics as Illinois expands community solar.
5/19/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Agrivoltaics advocates farm-first design and measurable dual-use standards to ensure solar pv co-location preserves agricultural value in China, the United States, Europe, and Japan.
5/16/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
University of Seville and Polytechnic University of Madrid researchers tested agrivoltaic photovoltaic shading with regulated deficit irrigation for tomatoes in Madrid and Seville in spring 2024.
4/16/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Additional
Solar PV paired with farm production is expanding internationally, with U.S. policy changes in Illinois and Virginia and trials in France and studies in Italy and Brazil.
7/7/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
DataM Intelligence published an agrivoltaics market report in 2026, forecasting growth through 2032 while citing U.S.-led pilots and AI-enabled PV-crop optimization across Europe and Asia.
3/12/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Farmers in the United States are adopting agrivoltaics to blend crop production with solar energy generation.
3/3/2026 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General
Rural farmers adopt agrivoltaics since 2008 to deploy solar on farmland in Texas, New York, and Vermont amid funding shifts.
1/1/1900 • Clean Energy & Emissions • General