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In the Southwest, solar panels can help both photovoltaics and crops | Solar arrays can shade crops from sun while moisture cools the panels to increase their productivity.
Solar arrays can shade crops from sun while moisture cools the panels to increase their productivity.
Researchers like Barron-Gafford think that, in addition to generating carbon-free electricity, agrivoltaics could offer a ray of hope for agriculture in an increasingly hotter and drier Southwest, as the shade created by these systems has been found to decrease irrigation needs and eliminate heat stress on crops. Heat-related illnesses are a growing concern for people who work outside, and one recent study predicted climate change will quadruple U.S. outdoor workers’ exposure to extreme heat conditions by 2065. Kominek encourages people to envision what our landscapes and climate will look like in the next 20 to 30 years, adding that in his part of Colorado, it only stands to get hotter and drier, making agrivoltaics a smart solution for farming and clean energy production.
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