Minnesota Agrivoltaic Pilot Project Encourages Crops under Solar Panels
US Solar has about 80 solar gardens in Minnesota, reports Minnesota Public Radio, as part of a pilot project encouraging farmers to grow crops or graze livestock under the panels at solar installations. The company often plants native grasses and wildflowers at solar farm sites, providing pollinator habitat. At an increasing number of sites, however, it’s working with local, small-scale farmers who are raising bees, grazing sheep, or growing produce under solar panels. Demonstrations at pilot sites are helping to introduce farmers to the concept, and some sites are making growing sites available free to new farmers, to help them get started. Stacie Peterson, NCAT’s energy director who oversees the national AgriSolar Clearinghouse, is quoted on the benefits of agrivoltaics for solar companies and for farmers. “We’ve talked with a lot of farmers that (say) this is how they were able to pay for their family farm,” she said. “(With) the money that they get from the solar, they’re able to pay for their taxes. Or they’re able to set up a trust for their kids.”
Related NCAT resource: AgriSolar Clearinghouse