Agrivoltaics to Generate Electricity and Provide Land Access for Emerging Farmers
In Progress
Challenge
Minnesota mandates that all electricity produced in the state must come from carbon-free sources by 2040. However, solar energy is known as a land-intensive technology. This has led to opposition to large-scale solar projects and some Minnesota counties recently enacted moratoria on further solar projects. If these problems remain unaddressed, they could become a significant barrier in Minnesota’s clean energy transition.
Impact Goal
Ensure that Minnesota’s clean energy transition occurs as sustainably and equitably as possible by establishing best practices for combining agriculture with solar energy production – called “agrivoltaic” developments – that enhance public acceptance of large-scale solar developments and provide land access to farmers from disadvantaged communities.
Partner Organization(s)
Project Leads
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Department of Horticultural Science
Dual-Use Solar Farms
Minnesota utilities are expected to add several gigawatt of solar energy developments over the next decade, which will require many thousands of acres of land.
The primary concerns with utility-scale solar developments include increased competition for land between photovoltaics, agriculture and housing development; reluctance in rural communities to take prime agricultural land out of production; and aesthetic concerns about how solar developments impact landscapes.
Agrivoltaic systems address these concerns by leveraging the superposition of energy and food production and creating advantages in energy generation and crop yield increase. Furthermore, studies have suggested that dual-use of agricultural land can lead to diversification and risk reduction for farmers.
This project aims to perform the research required to establish best practices for agrivoltaics on utility-scale solar farms in Minnesota and transfer that knowledge to emerging farmers, enabling them to gain land access to agrivoltaic developments.
Project Goals
- Assess the scientific benefits and potential drawbacks of agrivoltaic crop growth for Minnesota-specific crops
- Greatly expand the range of target crops for agrivoltaics by providing options for both shade-intolerant and shade-intolerant crops
- Demonstrate the viability and potential advantages of agrivoltaics to enhance public acceptance of crop-producing solar projects and reduce the competition for land between photovoltaics, agriculture and housing development
- Enable large agrivoltaic projects near large population centers to be able to meet the growing demand for land access by farmers who have been displaced by land use changes and climate impacts
- Potentially allow site owners to realize reduced operational costs for mowing and maintenance with the increased use of the land for agrivoltaic farming
Read about how this project partnered with Big River Farms in this Sahan Journal article.
Meet the Project Team
Project Leads
Uwe Kortshagen
Fellow
Since 2020
Department of Mechanical Engineering
College of Science and Engineering
Vivian Ferry
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
College of Science and Engineering
Nathan Eylands
Department of Horticultural Science
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Additional Team Members
Project Status
Last Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Impact Location
Minnesota
Start Date
Expected Completion
Jun 30, 2027