News > Agrivoltaics: How solar and farms form the perfect partnership

Agrivoltaics: How solar and farms form the perfect partnership

• Solar accessibility

September 24, 2025

• Tayler Butters

Going solar isn’t just a great way for farms to achieve energy independence — it can also enhance production, provide soil benefits, and diversify farm income thanks to a practice called agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is the intersection of solar energy and agriculture, including anything from vegetable production to pollinator habitats to animal grazing.

Agrivoltaics, sometimes referred to as agri-solar, AgriPV, or dual-use solar, most often works by installing ground-mounted panels on crop or grazing land. The panels are raised high enough to allow for animals (such as sheep) to graze, or — when sharing land with crops — are spread far enough apart for equipment like tractors to fit through. Simply put, agrivoltaics allows agriculture and solar panels to share the same land, and, as a result, the same sunlight. The cohabitation of the panels and livestock or crops can be an ideal situation for farmers as it creates agricultural benefits and provides a second stream of income. 

“Every solar project on farmland should ensure that rural communities aren’t left behind, and agrivoltaics is a tool to make that a reality.

“Developers have an opportunity to support farmers in their host communities and honor legacy agriculture at the same time,” said Indiana Rural Associate Abby Burnett “Every solar project on farmland should ensure that rural communities aren’t left behind, and agrivoltaics is a tool to make that a reality.”

Enhancing livestock grazing and crop production with solar

With an estimated 80,000 sheep grazing 100,000 acres of solar farms in America, sheep are the most common livestock to share land with solar. Since the panels are raised high enough to allow sheep to graze beneath them, farmers are not sacrificing land when going solar. In fact, they are providing shade for livestock, which can protect them on particularly hot days and even reduce their water consumption as a result. Providing livestock space to graze can even mitigate the cost of labor, fuel, and damages associated with mowing. While sheep are the standard for solar-grazing, other livestock such as cattle can graze with certain modifications made to the panels, such as raising them higher. 

A common misconception is that solar panels are harmful to crop production by taking sunlight away from crops. However, the shade from the panels can actually reduce the temperature for heat-sensitive plants and help retain moisture in the soil, which can enhance plant growth. A new study shows promising results for crops benefitting from growth under panels such as strawberries, raspberries, soybeans, zucchini, and peppers. 

Panels and Pollinators 

Agrivoltaics even extends to beekeeping — panels can share the same land with beehives in a process called solar beekeeping. While the sun generates electricity, bees can pollinate plants beneath the solar panels and, as a result, produce honey. Not only does the production of honey and solar energy provide revenue streams, but soil health can improve as well. 

Diversifying income for farmers

One of the main benefits of dual-use solar is that it allows the land to maintain its original purpose while, at the same time, allowing farmers to make money off solar energy. Not only can solar panels reduce the cost of the farm’s electricity, but thanks to policies like net metering, it allows farmers to essentially sell back excess energy to electric companies, potentially resulting in a profit. Net metering allows farmers to diversify their income by adding an additional revenue stream and increasing the value of their land as a whole.

Agrivoltaics is an incredibly new and exciting innovation in the world of clean energy. “Agrivoltaics is not a one size fits all solution, but that’s what makes it so fun. The research is clear — agriculture and solar are compatible,” said Burnett, emphasizing that the future of solar is bright.