Is solar energy a good option for farmers?

Solar energy offers farmers the opportunity to harvest the sun twice—the same reason land is good for farming (flat, open areas), also makes it good for solar installations. The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is researching the opportunities and trade-offs of agrivoltaics.

Do farmers want to adopt rooftop photovoltaics?

Therefore, when studying the intention to adopt rooftop photovoltaics, the theory of planned behavior provides researchers with a comprehensive theoretical framework that helps explain and predict farmers' willingness to adopt rooftop photovoltaics and provides guidance for developing interventions to promote photovoltaic adoption.

Can a ground-mounted solar panel be installed on a farm?

Depending on the lease terms, ground-mounted solar may or may not be allowed on the site. If it is allowed and current farming operations are suitable for a ground-mounted solar PV array or if unused land exists, ground-mounted solar PV may be an option. How can I reduce soil compaction when installing ground-mounted solar panels?

What is rooftop agrivoltaics (bousselot 2020)?

When solar panels are vertically integrated into rooftop agriculture systems, it is called rooftop agrivoltaics (Bousselot 2020). The term agrivoltaics is the contraction of the two words agri culture and photo voltaics, the latter is another term for solar panels.

Can rooftop agrivoltaics revolutionize urban farming?

Photo: Thomas Hickey Rooftop agrivoltaics have the potential to revolutionize urban farming. Just like the multifunctionality of agroforestry, which arguably revolutionized rural farming in the 1980s and 1990s, the multifunctionality of rooftop agrivoltaics can provide parallel co-benefits in urban spaces.

What is rooftop agrivoltaics?

Agroforestry has the co-benefits of growing food, sequestering carbon, and providing other ecosystem services in the same space – rooftop agrivoltaics is an urban analog. Although, rather than storing energy in the form of slow-growing biomass (wood), it harnesses the power of a rapidly renewable source – the sun.