Where Solar Meets Agriculture
By Kyle Rabin, Policy Analyst, ACE NY
SSolar photovoltaic (PV) systems are essential to breaking our dependence on fossil fuels and achieving a zero-emission electric sector in New York state and beyond. State and national policy and programs focused on reducing carbon emissions and increasing electric grid resiliency continue to drive demand for solar. As the industry grows, so has unease over grid-scale solar PV development and potential conflicts with agricultural lands.
There is a lot happening in New York to tackle this concern. First, all solar developers in New York are required to adhere to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Mitigation Guidelines for Solar Projects on Agricultural Land, to protect topsoil and prevent any permanent loss of farmland. To also help address these concerns and mitigate land use conflicts, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) initiated and supported the creation of the New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group (A-TWG), a valuable and constructive forum where a diverse group of stakeholders can openly communicate concerns and learn of the actions others could or are taking to address these concerns to improve outcomes.
The A-TWG forum, which launched in April 2021, includes representation from other state agencies including the Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Department of Environmental Conservation. The Alliance for Clean Energy New York is an official member of A-TWG, represented by Policy Analyst Kyle Rabin. A-TWG has held eight meetings to date. Following a four-month pause, A-TWG reconvened in September (see the meeting slides) – it is currently working to identify primary areas to focus the group’s attention over the next 12 to 18 months.
Co-locating utility-scale PV systems with other land uses such as growth of pollinator-friendly plants, grazing, or crop growth can help mitigate impacts related to habitat loss and environmental degradation. Additionally, this “dual-use” PV approach can help reduce land-use competition between agricultural activities and PV development in certain areas and can – in some locations and for some applications – provide synergistic benefits to the PV system and agricultural activity. The potential benefits of co-location and dual-use projects like agrivoltaics are getting a closer look by A-TWG to better understand their cost and economic feasibility. Potential benefits include improving certain crop production, increasing water retention in the soil beneath a solar array, enhancing soil health and reducing the maintenance of a solar system, among other advantages.
There are also strong incentives in New York for solar developers to avoid agricultural land. Last month, when New York’s sixth competitive solicitation calling for 2,000 megawatts or more of new, large-scale renewable energy projects was announced, one noteworthy provision was incentivizing proposers to avoid development on the highest quality agricultural lands, and committing to co-utilization measures to support continued agricultural operations as well as funding to support regional agricultural operations. Instances where proposers cannot avoid or minimize impacts on New York’s highest quality agricultural soils will result in a payment to a fund administered by NYSERDA in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Markets to support ongoing regional agricultural practices. An updated Smart Solar Siting Scorecard, which allows A-TWG members to provide feedback, will be utilized in the review of the project proposals submitted by developers.
The final version of New York State’s forthcoming Climate Action Plan Scoping Plan is expected to include a recommendation for a study on developing a comprehensive agrivoltaics program. This study and program will play a key role in guiding how solar projects can coexist with and complement farmland.
The stakes are high and it’s important we get this right! Rather than view this as an intractable conflict, co-location of solar and agriculture can be an opportunity to deliver a much-needed boost to farm income while improving soil health, increasing biodiversity protection, stabilizing farm revenues, and creating construction jobs in rural areas.
NOTE: The New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group’s resources page has been updated to include new resources such as NYSERDA’s 2022 Soils Data and interactive map and the 2022 Smart Solar Siting Scorecard.
