Agrivoltaics Research & Demonstration Grants

Through  Senate Bill 23-092 , the Colorado state legislature appropriated $500,000 to distribute as agrivoltaics grants in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to support Colorado producers and help Colorado’s clean energy transition.

These grants should “conduct a new or ongoing demonstration or research project as a means to study the potential, benefits, and tradeoffs of agrivoltaics in the state." A second round of $500,000 of funding was approved for Fiscal Year 2024-25 through the Long Bill. 

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With $500k spread across 7 projects, the following deliverables were met in the categories of  construction, demonstration, research, and outreach:

In partnership with Brown Land & Livestock, LLC, Namaste Solar transitioned two Greenbacker Capital-owned solar arrays in Weld County from conventional mowing to solar grazing. The transitioned sites totaled four megawatts and 24 acres. The best practices discovered from this retrofit process will be shared at two 2024 CSU Agrivoltaics Seminars.

This orchard project in Palisade found that covering a row of their vineyard with solar panels resulted in soil under the panels remaining at least 5 degrees cooler while the air temperature was the same or a few degrees warmer. Under the panels, Summit Cellars concluded that evapotranspiration was less which led to plants retaining more moisture and higher water savings percentage of around 50%.

This demonstration project installed and grid-tied a vertical bifacial agrivoltaic system at CSU’s ARDEC South. Sandbox Solar wrote a report about how to further reduce costs and best installation practices, tracked energy production, and hosted two in-person field days.

This project constructed a prototype system of a windbreak made from solar panels and found that an agrivoltaics shelterbelt may 1) mitigate the effects of dry air advection and help crops and soil retain moisture, 2) reduce wind-induced soil erosion, and 3) protect crops from extreme weather events.

This research study created an economic framework to determine the ideal amount of an operation to convert to agrivoltaics and created a calculator/decision tool for producers to predict crop outcomes and annual revenue depending on hypothetical integration of solar energy production at varying scales. 

This outreach project collected 225 complete survey responses from agricultural producers in Colorado and directly engaged over 100 producers through roundtables & conversations at farm & ranch events. This engagement led to a baseline understanding of barriers and concerns from the agricultural community regarding the adoption of agrivoltaics.

This project developed two documents: “Potential Conservation Easement Deed Language to Permit the Development of Commercial Solar Activities” and “Solar Electricity Generation Standards and Solar Use Plan Requirements.” These documents establish standards for responsible and conservation-minded agrivoltaics and dual-use solar development.