PLoS ONE 13, e0203256 (2018)

With the cost of photovoltaics falling and installed capacity increasing rapidly, there is a real need for research into the impacts of large-scale solar installations. Solar arrays compete with agriculture for land, but this can be minimized by intermingling solar panels with agriculture in what has been termed agrivoltaic systems.

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laboratory/Alamy Stock Photo.

Elnaz Hassanpour Adeh, from Oregon State University, and co-workers used a field experiment to investigate the impact of a six-acre agrivoltaic solar farm on microclimatology, soil moisture and pasture production.

They find that significant differences in mean air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and soil moisture are caused by the panels. Pasture under solar panels experienced a significant increase (up to 90%) in late-season biomass. This net yield benefit was largely due to increased water-use efficiency in the shaded areas that left water stored in the soil available throughout the entire growing season. This study shows that, at least in semi-arid pastures with wet winters, solar deployment can reduce pasture water demand, thereby increasing yields while generating power.