At 8 a.m., it鈥檚 already warm 鈥� bordering on hot 鈥� at Oregon State University鈥檚 in Corvallis.
The ground is dusty and so is faculty research assistant Matt Davis, who鈥檚 on his knees, rooting around in the soil.
鈥淚f we were a big commercial operation, we definitely wouldn鈥檛 be doing it this way. Research is a little less efficient,鈥� he says.
He pulls out an Adirondack blue potato, one of three varieties he鈥檚 harvesting, and hands a bin of them to OSU Extension鈥檚 Amy Garrett for sorting and weighing. Garrett examines each potato closely, looking for damage.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for wireworm damage. This variety seems to get these spots that are bad on them. We鈥檙e screening varieties for dry farming,鈥� says the researcher.
Garrett studies 鈥� growing crops without irrigation 鈥� which explains the dusty soil.
鈥淚 feel like the water issue is definitely real and on the forefront of everybody鈥檚 mind,鈥� she says. 鈥淎 lot of farmers are already on land without water rights and limited water availability.鈥�
But there鈥檚 something else out of the ordinary about this particular research plot: The rows of potatoes are planted between rows of solar panels.
鈥淲ater is an issue. Our climate is getting hotter and drier and if we want to continue to grow food and eat, we need to look at alternatives,鈥� she said.
Garrett is a member of a growing cadre of researchers testing the viability and showing the untapped potential of what鈥檚 been dubbed.
Agrivoltaic vision
You may have noticed farm fields in the Pacific Northwest that have been decommissioned and converted to solar installations. It鈥檚 usually one or the other.
But agrivoltaics pairs agriculture (including) and solar power production on the same plot of land. OSU agriculture professor Chad Higgins鈥� research is showing ways of doing both together that.
The panels鈥� shelter could protect from frost and heat and reduce water use.
鈥淲hat they do is what we do when we鈥檙e out in the sun: we sweat. Plants do something similar where they use water to keep their leaves cool enough for photosynthesis,鈥� Higgins said. 鈥淪o, if you take that stress off them, now they鈥檙e using less water.鈥�
With temperatures in Oregon expected to under the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions and precipitation expected to come more and more when farmers can鈥檛 use it, this would be a huge advantage.
鈥淚 think the key words are: more food and better food, less water, extra revenue for the farm. It鈥檚 a four-way win for farmers,鈥� Higgins said.
It鈥檚 a win for everyone else if all that new solar helps move the world away from burning fossil fuels.
A, co-authored by Higgins, calculated that the United States could meet 20% of its electricity demand by converting 1% of the country鈥檚 farmland into agrivoltaics.
The upfront investment to do this would be $1.12 trillion over the 35 years of their proposed project 鈥� a steep price tag. But those systems would pay back that investment in green electricity production in just 17 years.
鈥淎t a national level, agrivoltaics would produce more renewable energy and more food while using less water, fortifying the security of all three of these critical natural resources,鈥� the authors concluded.
It would also mean an influx of economic resources into rural communities.
鈥淭he solution to climate change is rural America,鈥� Higgins said.
Grim water outlook
Oregon and Washington farmers are already feeling the impacts of climate change.
鈥淐limate change, food security, nutrition security 鈥� it鈥檚 all connected. It鈥檚 all interlinked,鈥� said Emory University biochemist Debjani Sihi, who, but is not part of the Oregon agrivoltaics research.
The West is in the and. Warmer temperatures and drought have prompted battles over limited water supplies in places like the, Central Oregon and the. And these challenging conditions are as we continue to rely on fossil fuels to power our homes, businesses and transportation.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e at a point now where we have to focus on adapting, and if you look at that for agricultural communities, one of the most effective ways of adapting is water management,鈥� said Higgins.
While precipitation is actually expected to increase in the Pacific Northwest under human-caused climate change, farmers won鈥檛 get that water when they need it. Instead the heaviest precipitation will come in winter and fall as rain instead of snow, according to the .
Lower snowpack in the mountains means less water in the form of spring and summer melt that many farmers rely on for irrigation.
But now researchers in Oregon, led by Higgins, are proposing agrivoltaics 鈥� a new way of doing agriculture that could reduce water use while giving farmers the power to lead the green energy revolution.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working on something that I think can have a huge impact,鈥� Higgins said.
Combining forces
OSU Extension鈥檚 Garrett says agrivoltaics pairs nicely with her dry farming systems. It could be a boon in naturally arid regions as well.
鈥淚n the solar setting, there鈥檚 definitely not just a shading effect, but a sheltering effect from the wind as well,鈥� Garrett said.
Garrett is seeing that some of the potato varieties are doing better around the panels than in full sun, though the research is ongoing. And not every vegetable would be suitable to grow around panels in the Pacific Northwest.
鈥淧otatoes are more shade tolerant than some other crops that love full sun like tomatoes and squash and melons and dry beans and corn,鈥� she said.
Higgins and the near Wilsonville are setting up a multi-acre solar array designed to expand agrivoltaics research in Oregon even further.
鈥淎t the end of the day, if it鈥檚 something that can help the bottom line, that can help a farm survive, then why not go for it?鈥� Higgins said.
Obstacles ahead
Yet despite the promising results, there are substantial obstacles ahead for implementing these types of systems 鈥� including upfront costs, insurance questions, questions about the potential transfer of heavy metals from solar arrays into crops, and limited grid access.
And other researchers caution putting too much faith in one single idea to get us through the climate disaster.
鈥淸There鈥檚] not just one solution. You need to do [things] in combination. And I think as a scientist and community, we have to find the best possible solution,鈥� Emory soil researcher Sihi said.
And there are challenges more locally as well. Current land use laws in Oregon prevent or, though it does leave the door open for agrivoltaic-style systems in some cases.
But Higgins remains optimistic about the potential for agrivoltaic systems to transform the way we produce energy and food.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to make it work everywhere, right? We can pick and choose and pick the best spots. It鈥檚 our universe to design.鈥�
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