By Andi Anderson
Thousands of wildflowers are blooming under rows of solar panels in eastern Illinois. Milkweeds, black-eyed Susans, and native prairie grasses catch the sunlight that streams past solar panels on a 54-acre property near Champaign.
This experimental station, called Solar Farm 2.0, helps University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) scientists determine if Midwestern agriculture and solar power can coexist.
Researchers are piloting how crops like grains and soybeans, primarily used to feed livestock, grow with solar panels obstructing their full view of the sun.
This practice, called agrivoltaics, partners solar developers seeking large plots of land with farmers looking to make additional income.
Two parallel experiments are underway to find out what can grow and thrive under solar panels. To hit the ambitious clean energy targets set by state and federal officials, solar power must increase nearly seven times over the current capacity by 2035.
This means millions of acres devoted to solar power, many of which could be in America’s farmlands. Scientists aim to ensure that agricultural communities aren't left behind by the clean energy transition.
“We can only farm about 70% of the land here,” said Bruce E. Branham, professor of horticulture at UIUC. “So we’ve got 30% of the land that would be farmed in full sun that is just vacant.”
Initial findings suggest that sorghum grain could be a promising crop to grow alongside solar panels. Branham noted that combining sorghum with solar panels resulted in a 59% increase in efficiency, and wildlife, including birds and bees, are flocking to the improved habitat.
Solar Farm 2.0 produces close to 1% of the generating power of the Clinton Power Station, a nuclear plant 45 minutes east. This site presents an opportunity to combine Midwestern row crops with solar power to generate enough energy to compete with fossil fuels and other clean energy alternatives.
Cropland typically benefits from unobstructed sunshine and is often located near grid connections, making it ideal for solar power.
The United States has over 300 million acres of cropland as of 2020. States like Minnesota, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, and California are leading in building dual-use solar farms, with about 10 gigawatts installed across the country.
To meet the Biden Administration’s goal to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2035, solar power is expected to play a major role. Currently, solar energy supplies about 6% of the U.S. electricity supply, but it will need to increase to 40% to decarbonize affordably.
“It’s an opportunity to really be talking about how we preserve the agricultural character of the land while adding solar energy production,” said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the solar energy technology office at the U.S. Department of Energy. “If done right, it can diversify income sources for farmers and landowners and help keep farmland in production.”
Approximately six million acres of land across the country must be converted to solar to decarbonize the grid by 2035, with some percentage of that on cropland.
“It’s still early,” Jones-Albertus said, noting that 99% of current solar farm sites are not crop-related. In Illinois, there are 41 solar farm sites, with two devoted to sheep grazing and the rest to establishing pollinator habitats.
Photo Credit: istock-simplycreativephotography
Categories: Illinois, Rural Lifestyle