As the solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, grapes-endowed Kern County in California looks to agrovoltaics to boost farm production and renewable energy. 

Though currently enjoying only small-scale photovoltaic solar panel projects, the county has been thinking large-scale for over 6 months. 

Since fall 2023, academic centers have been gauging the viability of solar investments, partially to improve sustainable farming.

Agrovoltaics 

Successful agrovoltaics, which describes a merger of crop production and renewable energy, will require re-orienting farmers’ attitudes.

This is why Columbia University and the Kern County’s administration have been promoting the idea on growers through demonstrations.

In October 2023, California Renewable Energy Laboratory (CREL) demonstrated a commercial solar panel installation at Bakersfield College in Delano.

During the practical, CREL operated multiple well-spaced 7.5 feet tall photovoltaic (pv) panels to power a greenhouse cooling facility. The display also focused on how renewable power could operate farm equipment and charge location batteries.

Is California Ready for Commercial Solar Farming?

Despite the above practical set up, some agriculturalists think California is not ready for commercial PV solar set up. 

According to Jon Reiter, a solar energy professional in an October 2023 interview with PPIC, cultivating large-scale row crops would be cost ineffective. Arguably, the placement of solar panel rows on hundreds of acres of row crops would impede combine harvesters.

In the same interview, Renee Robin of Broad Reach Power projected double productivity for agrovoitacs in California.  Robin predicted 80% productivity if solar panel installation were spacious enough to allow the passage of heavy combine harvesters.

The expert also noted that productivity would go both ways, in that crop production and energy production would equally hike. In short, there would be 160% productivity on a single piece of land.

Kern county is a major agricultural area in California with a gross agricultural production worth of $8.34 billion in 2021. Key agricultural produce include grapes and citrus, followed by pistachios, almond and dairy.

So, as the area witnesses today’s solar eclipse between 8.am and 11. a.m West Coast time, it will also think about agrovoltaics.