Beyond Solar Farms: A Case Study of The Motivations, Challenges, and Benefits Associated with Developing Agrivoltaics at Jack’s Solar Garden

Abstract:

Solar energy is an integral part of an energy transition in the United States from a portfolio comprised primarily of fossil fuels to one led by renewable sources. However, growing social opposition to the development of solar energy facilities threatens to significantly delay, if not derail, an energy transition to renewable sources. Agrivoltaics, the co-production of agriculture and solar energy on the same plot of land, is an increasingly proposed solution for social opposition to solar energy. Despite the rapidly increasing development of agrivoltaic projects in the United States, there is a dearth of applied social science research into the motivations, challenges, and benefits associated with crop-based agrivoltaic systems. Drawing on rural geographic traditions of studying the changing uses and values of the rural landscape, this thesis addresses this key gap in social science agrivoltaics literature by using a case study of Jack’s Solar Garden, a crop-based agrivoltaic site in Colorado. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach including interviews, content analysis, and media analysis, this case study yields valuable insights into the range of motivations, challenges, and benefits associated with implementing and operating crop-based agrivoltaic systems. This research reveals how the development of an agrivoltaic system resulted in meaningful compromise between a farmer wanting to install solar energy, and a local government seeking to preserve agriculture. Further, the development and operation of Jack’s Solar Garden highlights the importance of stakeholder collaboration and the wide range of on-farm and community benefits that may accrue from agrivoltaic systems. The thesis concludes with recommendations for further research.

Watch The Defense Presentation

Defense Presentation References

Slide 3

DSIRE. (2023). Renewable & Clean Energy Standards [Map]. NC Clean Energy Technology Center.   https://ncsolarcen-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RPS-CES-Dec2023-  1.pdf

Katkar, V. V., Sward, J. A., Worsley, A., & Zhang, K. M. (2021). Strategic land use analysis for solar energy   development in New York State. Renewable Energy, 173, 861–875.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.03.128

U.S. Department of Energy. (2021, September). Solar Futures Study. U.S. Department of Energy.   https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-futures-study

Weise, E., Beard, S. J., Bhat, S., Padilla, R., Procell, C., & Zaiets, K. (2024, February 4). US counties are   blocking the future of renewable energy: These maps, graphics show how. USA Today.   https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/02/04/us-renewable-energy-grid-maps-  graphics/72042529007/

Slide 4

MacDonald, J. M., Hoppe, R. A., & Newton, D. (2018, March). Three Decades of Consolidation in U.S.   Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.   https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/276247/?v=pdf

Marsden, T., Murdoch, J., Lowe, P., Munton, R., & Flynn, A. (1993). Constructing the countryside. University   College London.

Woods, M. (2010). Rural. Routledge.

Slide 6

Barron-Gafford, G. A., Pavao-Zuckerman, M. A., Minor, R. L., Sutter, L. F., Barnett-Moreno, I., Blackett, D. T., T  hompson, M., Dimond, K., Gerlak, A. K., Nabhan, G. P., & Macknick, J. E. (2019). Agrivoltaics provide   mutual benefits across the food-energy-water nexus in drylands. Nature Sustainability, 2, 848–855.   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0364-5

Carrausse, R., & Arnauld De Sartre, X. (2023). Does agrivoltaism reconcile energy and agriculture? Lessons   from a French case study. Energy, Sustainability and Society, 13(1), 8.   https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-023-00387-3

Hu, Z. (2023). Towards solar extractivism? A political ecology understanding of the solar energy and   agriculture boom in rural China. Energy Research & Social Science, 98, 102988.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.102988

Hu, Z. (2024). Doomed in the agrivoltaic campaign? The case of Chinese smallholder agriculture in the   deployment of agrivoltaic projects. Energy for Sustainable Development, 83, 101562.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2024.101562

Pascaris, A. S., Schelly, C., & Pearce, J. M. (2020). A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on   the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics. Agronomy, 10(12), 1885.   https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121885

Rand, J., Hoesch, K., Mills, S., Hoen, B., Nilson, R., Bessette, D., & White, J. (2024). Perceptions of Large-  Scale Solar Project Neighbors: Results From a National Survey. Berkeley Lab Energy Markets and   Policy Department. https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/perceptions-large-scale-solar-project

Slide 7

InSPIRE. (n.d.). Agrivoltaics Map [Map]. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE/Agrivoltaics_Map

Slide 8

Goldberg, Z. A. (2023). Solar energy development on farmland: Three prevalent perspectives of conflict,   synergy and compromise in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 101, 103145.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103145

Gamper-Rabindran, S., & Ash, J. (2024). “Farming the sun” or “coal legacy”? Social perspectives on solar   energy projects in Appalachia. Energy Research & Social Science, 117, 103656.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103656

Wittman, H., Dennis, J., & Pritchard, H. (2017). Beyond the market? New agrarianism and cooperative   farmland access in North America. Journal of Rural Studies, 53, 303–316.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.03.007

Slide 9

Barron-Gafford, G. A., Pavao-Zuckerman, M. A., Minor, R. L., Sutter, L. F., Barnett-Moreno, I., Blackett, D. T.,   Thompson, M., Dimond, K., Gerlak, A. K., Nabhan, G. P., & Macknick, J. E. (2019). Agrivoltaics   provide mutual benefits across the food-energy-water nexus in drylands. Nature Sustainability, 2,   848–855. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0364-5

Enthoven, L., & Van den Broeck, G. (2021). Local food systems: Reviewing two decades of research.   Agricultural Systems, 193, 103226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103226

Kochendoerfer, N., Hain, L., & Thonney, M. L. (2019). The agricultural, economic and environmental   potential  of co-locating utility scale solar with grazing sheep. David R. Atkinson Center for a   Sustainable Future. https://solargrazing.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Atkinson-Final-  Report.pdf

Nakata, H., & Ogata, S. (2023). Integrating Agrivoltaic Systems into Local Industries: A Case Study and   Economic Analysis of Rural Japan. Agronomy, 13(2), 513.   https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020513

Slide 10

Agir, S., Derin-Gure, P., & Senturk, B. (2023). Farmers’ perspectives on challenges and opportunities of   agrivoltaics in Turkiye: An instituional perspective. Renewable Energy, 212, 35–49.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.04.137

Guarino, J., & Swanson, T. (2022). Emerging Agrivoltaic Regulatory Systems: A Review of Solar Grazing.   Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental & Energy Law, 12(1).   https://studentorgs.kentlaw.iit.edu/ckjeel/v12i1-2022-2023-1-guarino_swanson/

Karhoff, Q. E., Endres, A. B., Guarino, J. L., & Swanson, T. J. (2024). Renewable Energy in Illinois: The   Agrivoltaics Contribution. Southern Illinois University Law Journal, 48, 591–622.

Macy, A., Swanson, T. J., Seay-Fleming, C., Gerlak, A. K., & Barron-Gafford, G. A. (n.d.). Designing for Dual-  Use Solar: An examination of the agrivoltaic policy landscape in the United States. In Review.

Slide 13

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study. Sage.

Ilott, I., Gerrish, K., Pownall, S., Eltringham, S., & Booth, A. (2013). Exploring scale-up, spread, and sustainability: An instrumental case study tracing an innovation to enhance dysphagia care. Implementation Science, 8(1), 128. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-8-128

Lynch, S. J., Spillane, N., House, A., Peters-Burton, E., Behrend, T., Ross, K. M., & Han, E. M. (2016). A Policy-Relevant Instrumental Case Study of an Inclusive STEM-Focused High School: Manor New Tech High. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.18404/ijemst.75656

Marsden, T., Murdoch, J., Lowe, P., Munton, R., & Flynn, A. (1993). Constructing the countryside. University College London.

Slide 15

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa