Growing and Grazing Under the Solar Farms:
The opportunities and Challenges of aGRIVOLTAICS
Environmental Degradation
Agrivoltaics, the practice of combining agriculture with solar power, is turning solar farms into spaces where food grows and animals graze. From rice paddies in Japan to sheep pastures in the U.S., this dual-use approach promises cleaner energy, fresh produce, and extra income on the same land.
What is Agrivoltaics?
Agrivoltaics means using the same land for both solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and agricultural activities. Instead of replacing fields with solar panels, farmers install panels above crops or pasture, or between rows of plants. This way, the land produces food and electricity simultaneously. The approach is catching on worldwide because it preserves farmland, reduces maintenance costs, and benefits both farmers and energy companies. By sharing sunlight, agrivoltaics turns potential land-use conflicts into win-win collaborations.
A farmer harvests crops at Jack’s Solar Garden, a 1.2 megawatt community solar garden and agrivoltaics research site in Colorado. Photo by Werner Slocum / National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Source: US Department of Energy
Real wORLD eXAMPLES
In Japan, pioneering farmers have installed elevated solar arrays over rice paddies. A multi-year experiment found that partial shade from panels only modestly reduced rice yields (around 20%) while dramatically boosting overall farm revenue. When rice harvests were combined with solar electricity production, the agrivoltaic farm’s earnings were about 14 times higher than a rice-only field. This shows how agrivoltaics can make farming more profitable even if crop output dips slightly under the panels.
In the United States, solar developers are partnering with ranchers to raise flocks of sheep on solar sites. Sheep serve as natural lawnmowers, happily nibbling away weeds and grass beneath the panels. For example, a large solar farm in California uses hundreds of grazing sheep to control vegetation, which saves on mowing costs and even reduces wildfire risks. The solar panels, in turn, provide the animals with shade and shelter from wind and rain. Grazing keeps the land in agricultural use and cuts maintenance expenses for the solar operator. This trend, often dubbed “solar grazing”, is expanding, from vineyards in Oregon to large ranches in Texas, as farmers see the benefit of dual-use land.
Benefits
Environmental:
Merging solar with farming can improve land stewardship. Using sheep or other livestock for vegetation control eliminates the need for herbicides or fuel-powered mowers, cutting pollution. The partial shade from panels helps soil retain moisture, which can lead to lusher grass growth and resilience to drought.
Economic:
Agrivoltaics provides farmers with new revenue streams while still growing crops or raising animals. They can earn income from leasing land to solar developers or by selling both farm products and solar power. Solar grazing also saves money for solar farm operators by reducing vegetation management costs.
Land-Use:
Dual-use solar farms make the most of limited land. Instead of competing with agriculture, renewable energy projects can co-exist with crops and livestock, preserving rural landscapes and livelihoods. This integrated approach means a single plot can feed people and power homes at the same time. By keeping farmland in production under the panels, agrivoltaics prevents the loss of arable land and eases the tension between food security and clean energy development.
Challenges
Agrivoltaic systems face significant technical, social, and policy challenges worldwide. Ensuring that crops can thrive under the partial shade of solar panels remains a major technical hurdle, as some crop types are sensitive to reduced sunlight. Many farmers are also unfamiliar with this dual-use technology, reflecting a general lack of awareness about agrivoltaics. Furthermore, unclear regulations and limited policy support in many regions—combined with the high upfront costs of these installations—continue to hinder broader adoption.
Solar grazing should be a positive value-add to a sheep enterprise.
