Food or solar energy? There doesn’t have to be a choice

Plus, with Republican House leadership set, come the anti-ESG hearings.

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Photo: AgriSolar Clearinghouse.

I grew up on a farm, and the thought that its picturesque fields could be covered by non-bucolic solar panels is quite alarming. But I am also a fan of renewable energy. How to square the circle?

That’s where the, er, field of “agrivoltaics” comes in. Instead of land being given over solely to solar energy — and thus possibly reducing the food supply — increasing focus is being put on combining the two.

As we reported about this time last year, a networking organization call AgriSolar Clearinghouse, is connecting farmers, landowners and solar developers and produced a case study of about the 23.4 MW Arnprior solar project near Ottawa, Canada, developed by France’s EDF Renewables (EDFR). On the 300-acre site, sheep roam and bees create honey among the panels.