Bipartisan Agrivoltaics Bill Introduced in Senate
On May 31, 2023, Senators Heinrich (D-NM) and Braun (R-IN) introduced the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023 (S. 1778). Featuring a proposal first outlined in the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), the bill provides for the Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to jointly focus on advancing research on agrivoltaics and demonstrations of the value of such systems.
Agrivoltaics systems combine solar panels (i.e., photovoltaic systems) with agricultural production. For example, such systems include grazing sheep or cattle under solar panels. Growing vegetables or pollinator-friendly plants with panels also fall into this category. By adding panels to farmland, producers reap the benefits of producing their own energy without reducing their acres in production. In fact, solar panels can improve the productivity of appropriate crops and reduce water loss. The panels …