Agrivoltaics: An economic option for farmers and rural development – Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)

Report on Agrivoltaics and Sustainable Development

Introduction: Addressing Energy and Agricultural Land Use Challenges

A significant increase in electricity demand across the United States, driven by data centers, electrification, and industrial growth, necessitates an expansion of power generation. This report examines the role of agrivoltaics in meeting this demand while concurrently advancing several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Renewable energy sources, particularly solar and wind, are the most economically viable options for new generation, directly supporting SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). However, the expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations presents a land-use conflict, as ideal locations often overlap with productive farmland. Agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy generation and agricultural activities, offers an innovative solution to this challenge, promoting sustainable land management in line with SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Agrivoltaics: A Synergistic Approach to Sustainable Development

Integrating Energy Production and Food Security

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) projects that by 2050, solar installations could occupy up to 10 million acres. Agrivoltaics mitigates the risk of converting valuable farmland solely for energy production, thereby safeguarding food systems and contributing to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). This dual-use model ensures that land remains agriculturally productive while simultaneously generating clean power, representing a critical innovation for sustainable infrastructure under SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Socio-Economic Benefits and Community Resilience

The implementation of agrivoltaics yields substantial benefits for multiple stakeholders, fostering economic growth and resilient communities.

• Landowners: Farmers gain a diversified and stable revenue stream, enhancing economic resilience in a volatile industry. This directly supports SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
• Solar Developers: Access to viable land is streamlined with fewer permitting challenges, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure required to meet climate targets under SDG 13 (Climate Action).
• Communities: Local economies benefit from new investment and tax revenues while preserving their agricultural heritage and land. This strengthens the foundation for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Growth and Future Potential

Current Status and Projections

The adoption of agrivoltaics is expanding rapidly, demonstrating its viability and potential contribution to national energy goals.

1. 2020 Status: Installations covered 27,000 acres with a capacity of 4.5 gigawatts (GW).
2. 2024 Status: Installations grew to over 62,000 acres with a capacity of 10 GW, sufficient to power approximately 1.5 million homes.

Analysis suggests that converting just one percent of U.S. farmland to agrivoltaics could meet a significant portion of the nation’s renewable energy goals without compromising agricultural output. This underscores the model’s potential to simultaneously advance SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) on a national scale.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  The article discusses the challenge of balancing solar energy expansion with agricultural land use. It presents agrivoltaics as a solution to “produce both food and energy at the same time,” directly connecting to the goal of ensuring sustainable food production systems without sacrificing farmland needed for food security.

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

  This is a central theme of the article. It highlights the increasing demand for electricity and the push to build new generation resources, specifically focusing on solar power as one of the “cheapest sources of new power.” The growth of agrivoltaics capacity from 4.5 GW to 10 GW is a clear indicator of progress towards clean energy goals.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article points out the economic benefits of agrivoltaics, stating that it provides landowners with a “new, steady revenue stream in an incredibly volatile industry.” This creates economic resilience and diversification for rural communities, contributing to sustainable economic growth.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  Agrivoltaics is presented as an innovative solution (“a winning solution”) that integrates two industries: agriculture and energy. The article discusses the “rush to build new generation resources,” which involves significant investment in new, sustainable infrastructure (solar installations).

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The article emphasizes the community-level benefits of agrivoltaics, noting that communities “retain agricultural land in production while enjoying local investment and tax revenue.” This supports the development of resilient and sustainable rural communities.

• SDG 15: Life on Land

  The core issue discussed is land use conflict between energy and agriculture. The article addresses the projection that solar installations “could require as much as 10 million acres of land” by 2050. Agrivoltaics is proposed as a sustainable land management practice that avoids the conversion of productive farmland, thereby protecting terrestrial ecosystems from being solely repurposed for industrial use.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 2.4:

  By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. The article’s focus on agrivoltaics as a method to “produce both food and energy at the same time” and maintain “agricultural productivity” directly aligns with this target of implementing resilient and sustainable agricultural practices.

• Target 7.2:

  By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article is entirely focused on the expansion of solar energy, a key renewable source. It quantifies this expansion by noting the growth in agrivoltaics capacity and stating that converting just 1% of U.S. farmland could “meet a significant portion of the country’s renewable energy goals.”

• Target 8.2:

  Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation… Agrivoltaics is presented as an innovative technological solution that diversifies the income of landowners, adding a “steady revenue stream” from energy production to volatile agricultural income, thereby increasing economic productivity on the same parcel of land.

• Target 9.4:

  By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes… The article’s discussion of the “rush to build new generation resources” like solar installations represents an upgrade to a more sustainable energy infrastructure. Agrivoltaics is a clean technology that improves land-use efficiency.

• Target 15.3:

  By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. The article addresses the issue of “farmland conversion” as a major challenge. By enabling dual-use of land, agrivoltaics helps prevent the degradation or loss of productive agricultural land, contributing to the goal of maintaining land quality and avoiding degradation from single-use industrial development.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for Target 7.2:

  The article provides direct quantitative data that can be used to measure progress. It states that agrivoltaics capacity grew from 4.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2020 to 10 GW in 2024. This directly measures the increase in renewable energy generation capacity, which is a key component of Indicator 7.2.1 (Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption).

• Indicator for Target 2.4 & 15.3:

  The article mentions the amount of land used for agrivoltaics, which grew from 27,000 acres in 2020 to more than 62,000 acres in 2024. This figure serves as an indicator for the “Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture” (Indicator 2.4.1), as it quantifies the land where both food and energy are produced sustainably. It also measures the amount of land protected from conversion.

• Implied Indicator for Target 8.2:

  The article implies an economic indicator by mentioning that agrivoltaics provides landowners with a “new, steady revenue stream” and communities with “local investment and tax revenue.” While not quantified, the existence and growth of these financial benefits can be measured to track progress towards economic diversification and productivity.

• Projected Indicator for Land Use:

  The article cites an NREL projection that PV installations could require up to 10 million acres of land by 2050. This figure serves as a baseline to measure the effectiveness of solutions like agrivoltaics in mitigating land conversion and promoting dual-use land management.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: ieefa.org