NYSERDA today announced over $7 million has been awarded to projects that co-locate solar and agricultural operations in New York State. Through NYSERDA’s Environmental Research Program, over $2 million was awarded to four projects to demonstrate the potential impacts and benefits of using the same land for renewable energy generation from solar panels and active farming. Additionally, a $5 million grant was awarded to Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to construct agrivoltaics projects at its agricultural experiment stations. Together, the demonstration of and research findings gained from these projects will support a broader understanding of the costs, benefits, and market potential for agrivoltaics as part of New York State’s clean energy transition and economic growth.

“We are proud to partner with farmers, developers, and research partners to advance projects that support solar as a resource to produce energy in New York State while sustaining agriculture operations for economic growth. By examining different means of integrating agriculture operations and clean energy siting, we will build our understanding of the costs, benefits and market potential of locating two essential industries in the same space,” said NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris.

Agriculture is a critically important sector of New York’s economy, with over 33,000 farms across approximately 20% of the state’s land area, or close to 7 million acres. Farmers, many who are struggling, have expressed interest in the potential for solar energy to provide an additional revenue stream to help stabilize farm income and sustain farm operations. The New York State Farmland Protection Working Group, overseen by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM), recommended that the state study co-utilizing land for renewable energy generation and agricultural production with the potential to play an important role in meeting New York State’s future energy and agricultural development needs. These awards demonstrate NYSERDA’s commitment to developing information and tools that support decision-making in communities and engaging property owners who are considering co-utilization opportunities for agriculture and renewable energy generation to help them keep their land and stay in business.

The awards support integrating both new or retrofitted solar and farm operations such as those with grazing, forage or specialty crop production. Researchers, solar developers, farmers, non-profit organizations and local governments were eligible to submit proposals that include a solar site design, marketable agricultural commodity, estimates of expected agricultural production and solar generation.

The awarded projects include:

• New York Power Authority was awarded $750,000 to develop a 1.2- to 1.5-MW solar array that can power approximately 230 New York homes annually on close to 14 acres of State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill campus in Schoharie County, using elevated panels for cattle grazing in rotation with growing corn, spaced to accommodate traditional harvesting equipment.
• K&MH Martens Farms was awarded $185,000 to incorporate agrivoltaics into the development of a 300-kW solar array for a microgrid to support an on-site grain processing operation. The project also seeks to use the solar array to maximize shade benefits for grazing dairy cattle, enhance productivity of the soil and extend the growing season for cool-season grasses while using construction processes that protect soil and farmland pasture in Yates County.
• Lightstar Renewables was awarded over $515,000 for a 3.2-MW solar array to produce electricity to be provided to the grid, which is equivalent to that used by approximately 725 New York homes per year. The construction features wider spacing of solar panels to enable the continuation of hay production and harvest on one to two acres of new vegetable operations in Orange County.
• United Agrivoltaics was awarded $750,000 to demonstrate adding pigs, poultry and specialty crops at existing solar sites in Cortland, Schuyler, Tompkins and Niagara counties that already produce 15.85 MW of community solar and cover a total of more than 100 acres.

These projects enable NYSERDA and researchers to understand the costs, benefits, and lessons learned related to agrivoltaics and share data that can be used to develop best practices. NYSERDA convenes the New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group (A-TWG), an independent advisory body comprised of farmers and farming stakeholders, solar developers, state agencies and non-governmental organizations, to advise and steer efforts in advancing solar energy development in a responsible way that supports New York State’s agricultural operations, lands, farmers and communities. The A-TWG commissioned the report Growing Agrivoltaics in New York State published in 2023 that identified opportunities and constraints associated with the increasing uptake of agrivoltaics projects in New York State. The A-TWG also provides input on the Smart Solar Siting Scorecard which is used to evaluate applications for utility scale solar projects for their avoidance and mitigation of agricultural and forest lands. NYSERDA in ongoing consultation with the AGM and the A-TWG will study the results of the awarded agrivoltaic projects to understand the opportunities and market potential for agrivoltaics in New York State.

NYSERDA also announced that it has awarded a $5 million grant to Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) to construct agrivoltaic projects at its Agricultural Experiment Station sites in the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes. These sites will conduct long term research on the dual-use of solar operations and agriculture practices across a range of growing conditions and crops relevant to state agricultural producers.

CALS Hudson Valley Research Lab, in the hamlet of Highland, will construct an approximately 300-kW solar array on about two acres, above high-density apple orchards. Specialized sensors and controls will enable solar panel manipulation for sun and shading preferences and for crop protection from frost and hail weather events. Electricity produced will be used to power research lab operations and surplus power will be supplied to the local electric grid.

Additionally, CALS will construct an approximately 900-kW solar array on the Cornell University campus in the town of Ithaca, and will utilize a tracking system, on about seven acres. Plantings within the solar array will include traditional annual vegetable, field and perennial forage crops. Designed to mimic conditions in a variety of solar array configurations, the system will enable research across a range of disciplines including plant genetics, soil health, and water management strategies associated with agrivoltaics. Electricity produced from the solar array will provide power to Cornell’s campus electric grid. CALS will also evaluate constructing agrivoltaics at its Cornell Agri-Tech research farm in the city of Geneva.

New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “Agrivoltaics projects balance the need for additional renewable energy capacity and the preservation of arable farmland. Farmers are the backbone of New York’s rural communities, and funding support for projects like these is important as we aim to strengthen our understanding of this innovative technology that can enhance agricultural productivity while contributing to the energy diversity of our state’s grid.”

Source - https://news.energyjobline.com