Can you really grow vegetables under solar panels in Oregon?
UPDATE: August 22, 2024
Progress continues at NEWAg Solar Harvest site. Melon and squash are growing well under the solar panels yet require less water and sun than conventional farming practices. Sun loving corn however does not seem to benefit as much from the shade.
In the picture above we can see orchard grass, which is a global reference crop, where findings from research programs can be applied to many other crops around the world.
Sharp-eyed readers will notice the grass grows higher on the sides of the field, where there is shade from the solar panels and lower growth in the middle which is unshaded from the hot mid-day sun. Queen Anne’s Lace, a highly persistent and pernicious weed, can be seen in the middle where the soil is driest.
Dr. Higgins research continues to suggest that many plants simply do not need as much sun as they get in Oregon and do better with a bit less sun which can stress the plants.
Melons were grown this year under the solar panels in dry farming conditions (without irrigation during a dry season) and produced healthy and great tasting fruit, further suggesting less water may be needed to grow the crops.
Blueberries will be planted in the Fall so we can hopefully look forward to fatter and better tasting fruit next year.
During a recent tour of the research facility Dr. Higgins shared his thoughts on the attractiveness of autonomous electric farm vehicles. He makes the point that farm equipment needs to be heavy with motors that have relatively high torque and lower horsepower, all of which are characteristics of electric vehicles.
Autonomous farm vehicles can operate 24x7x7, with occasional stops for charging, and require fewer farm workers thereby lowering food costs and improving profit margins for farmers. Monarch Tractors of Livermore, California is an early entrant in this field, but other OEMs are expected to bring autonomous equipment to market.
Operating autonomous farm equipment would be a fairly easy task given the open spaces and routes that are well defined with minimal random obstructions.
Check back in the Spring of 2025 when we hope to have another progress report.
UPDATE: October 24, 2023
Progress continues at the NEWAg Solar Harvest site. Various crops such as tomatoes, melons and squash are growing well and actually appear to be healthier under the solar panels than those grown in the open. Some of these crops have already been harvested and others will be harvested as the growing season continues.
Dr. Higgins' work continues to gain notice in Oregon and Washington State. One such project is the The Hop Hill Renewable Power Project in Benton County, Washington includes a 500 MW solar farm and a 500 MW battery storage system. Dr Higgins provided advice and guidance on the project relative to the design and implementation of agrivoltaics concepts to improve the farmland for sheep grazing.
Dr. Higgins' has also engaged in the The Muddy Creek Energy Park which is another dual use agricultural and solar energy generating project where sheep can graze under solar panels. The 1,588 acre facility on private land in Linn County consists of a 199 MW solar array and battery storage system. When fully operational it will provide clean, low-cost, renewable energy to approximately 34,000 homes in Oregon.
Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating with NEWAg to understand the interactions between the solar panels and birds. They've installed an automated, high resolution, video camera system utilizing artificial intelligence to document and classify bird activity on and near the solar panels. Activities include flying and landing on the panels, nesting and feeding. The work may help to understand any potential risks and how to make solar farms more hospitable to birds.
To learn more please visit:
Hop Hill Renewable Power Project
Argonne technology eyes bird activity at solar facilities
Original post, March 2, 2023
Summer in Oregon, with its abundant water and warm, sunny days offers ideal conditions for growing vegetables. But what if those vegetables didn’t need all that sun, but could grow equally well in the shade—of solar panels? Can farmers, using a practice called agrivoltaics, produce, at the same time and in the same fields, abundant crops and clean, low-cost, renewable energy?
Dr. Higgins, Associate Professor of Agriculture at Oregon State University, has put together a team to answer these questions. Establishing Solar Harvest, an agrivoltaic research project located at the OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center, the team hopes to determine whether vegetables, forage crops and even nursey stock can successfully grow in the intermittent shade of solar panels. The team will study which lighting conditions, soil moisture content and irrigation requirements will provide the best environment for producing both food and electricity. The team also hopes to determine if some crops might grow even better under the panels than in the sun by reducing heat stress and retaining more moisture.
Solar panels at the OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center.
Solar Harvest is a collaboration between OSU and the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative, an organization which owns and operates community based solar projects.
The Solar Harvest farm includes a five-acre solar array and has a capacity of 320 kilowatts. The array’s 800 photovoltaic panels are mounted approximately five feet above the ground and utilize a single-axis rotating system to capture the maximum sunlight throughout the day.
Photovoltaic panels are mounted approximately five feet above the ground and utilize a single-axis rotating system to capture the maximum sunlight throughout the day.
Renewable energy discounts will be provided to OSU, nonprofits and residents who sign up for the Community Solar Program through the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative.
Dr. Higgins work could not come at a better time. The federal government has also begun to support agrivoltaics. In December 2022, a separate effort by the US Department of Energy announced the Foundational Agrivoltacis Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) program with an investment of $8 million to continue research and development for agrivoltacis.
The first Solar Harvest crops were planted in the Fall of 2022 and the first research findings are expected in the Spring of 2023.
The OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center is open to the public and will serve as an agricultural and solar energy demonstration project and learning facility.
To learn more: