By Andi Anderson
Agrivoltaics, the practice of combining agriculture with solar energy projects, is quickly becoming Michigan's best-kept secret. Despite its potential benefits, many farmers remain unaware of the opportunities it offers.
Recently, I spoke with several farmers involved in a utility-scale solar project, and none had considered the possibility of growing crops or grazing livestock within the solar arrays. This lack of awareness highlights the need to bring agrivoltaics into the spotlight.
Agrivoltaics involves growing crops or raising livestock in and around solar installations. It requires close coordination between farmers and solar developers during the early planning stages of the project.
For crop farmers, agreements must address issues such as minimizing soil compaction, ensuring adequate spacing and height of solar arrays, and providing access to the site. Livestock grazers, on the other hand, need to discuss fencing, water access, forage options, and staging areas.
These considerations must be settled before any solar infrastructure is installed to ensure the successful integration of agriculture into the project.
For farmers, agrivoltaics presents a unique opportunity. Solar developers typically pay landscape companies to manage vegetation in their solar projects, which includes planting grasses, controlling weeds, and maintaining appropriate vegetation height.
Farmers, as experts in vegetation management, can perform these tasks while simultaneously keeping their land in productive agricultural use. This arrangement provides an additional income stream for farmers, who can grow crops between solar arrays or graze livestock throughout the solar site.
The benefits of agrivoltaics are clear: solar developers receive excellent vegetation management, farmers gain a new source of income, and the public enjoys the dual benefits of renewable energy production and the preservation of agricultural land. It’s a win-win-win situation for all parties involved.
By shedding light on agrivoltaics, we can help Michigan farmers tap into this valuable opportunity, ensuring that more land remains productive while contributing to the state’s renewable energy goals.
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Categories: Michigan, Energy