Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Agrivoltaics Gains Ground On Farmland
Coverage from Blue Virginia, Messenger News, and others
Articles
6
Latest Article
03/12
Active Days
48
Executive Summary
Farmers and researchers are expanding agrivoltaics as solar panels add income, support crops and livestock, and help preserve farmland
- Virginia lawmakers are weighing bills to guide agrivoltaic and utility scale solar siting
- Counties in Virginia keep denying many solar permits even when projects meet local rules
- Farmers can lease land for solar to secure steady income and keep land in the family
- Virginia sheep grazers already use solar sites for vegetation management under panel rows
- Iowa State researchers found vegetables and honey production can work on a solar farm
- Peppers and squash performed well in panels shade while honey output rose sharply
- Michigan State Extension is sharing agrivoltaics research on hay, vegetables and solar grazing
Quick Facts
- What: Agrivoltaics combines farming with solar energy production
- Where: Virginia Iowa Michigan Texas and other rural areas
- Why: To preserve farmland stabilize farm income and cut emissions
- Who: Farmers researchers lawmakers and solar developers
- When: 2024 through 2026 with current legislative action
Coverage Timeline: 48 Days
Featured Article
Iowa State University researchers report first year agrivoltaics results at the Alliant Energy Solar Farm in Iowa in 2024.
Additional Articles
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In Virginia, legislators in 2025–2026 propose multiple bills to guide agrivoltaic and utility-scale solar siting as counties continue rejecting many projects.
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Rural farmers adopt agrivoltaics since 2008 to deploy solar on farmland in Texas, New York, and Vermont amid funding shifts.
Michigan State University Extension hosts a webinar series on agrivoltaics to share research and best practices for farming within solar arrays in Michigan.
Farmers in the United States are adopting agrivoltaics to blend crop production with solar energy generation.
DataM Intelligence published an agrivoltaics market report in 2026, forecasting growth through 2032 while citing U.S.-led pilots and AI-enabled PV-crop optimization across Europe and Asia.