Installing solar panels can make your farm more productive and financial. Solar panels will keep your crops cooler during the daylight, which will lower moisture levels and prevent hail damage. These panels protect crops from drying and keep them warm at night.
Solar panels can also reduce your electricity bills. One California almond sheller built a solar-powered processing plant covering 45,000 square feet. This facility offsets 90 percent of the electricity used by his family during drought conditions.
While solar on farmland may not be a new concept in America, it is still a very new phenomenon. Agrivoltaics (or farm-based solar) is the next step towards increasing solar's share of renewable energy. As solar technology improves, farmers will begin to install solar arrays as a way to offset the high cost of electricity.
There are still many things to learn about farm-based sun. While the technology may be new, many farmers are seeing surprising benefits from it. A recent study from the University of Maine found that solar panels boosted the number of wild blueberries planted on patches of land. The solar panels also had a positive effect on overall growth.
In addition to boosting the production of food, solar on farmland can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The quality of agrivoltaic technology will improve as it advances. Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target Program (SMART), which provides financial incentives to solar developers, aims at increasing the use of farm-based sun.