Agrivoltaics Canada

A great discussion at our August Agrivoltaics Canada Community Exchange! 🚜☀️

Thank you to Dr. Yuri Bellone for joining us to share his research on agricultural mechanization compatibility in agrivoltaics and the importance of designing systems around real farming operations.

The session took a detailed look at what happens when solar infrastructure and agricultural machinery have to operate within the same space, including:

🚜 How operating space, implement working width and row pitch influence machinery compatibility
📐 How buffer zones and structural constraints can reduce cultivable area and complicate field operations
⚙️ How overlapping passes, reduced operating speeds and difficult headland turns can lower field efficiency and increase fuel use and costs
🛰️ The potential for GNSS-guided machinery to reduce uncultivated buffers, alongside the limitations that still need to be addressed
🤝 Why agrivoltaic systems should be co-designed around the machinery required throughout crop rotations, with wider row pitches increasing the range of compatible equipment

A key message from the presentation was that maintaining agricultural continuity requires machinery and farming operations to be considered from the beginning of agrivoltaic system design, not after the solar infrastructure is already in place.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the conversation! 🙌

📅 Our Community Exchanges take place on the last Friday of every month, from 12:00–1:00 PM EST.
We have some exciting speakers lined up for the coming months, so keep an eye on our socials for upcoming sessions! 👀🌱

⏰ Less than a week to go!
How can agrivoltaic systems be designed so farmers can still operate their machinery efficiently? 🚜☀️

At our August Community Exchange, Yuri Bellone, PhD will explore the practical relationship between solar infrastructure and agricultural mechanization, including:
⚙️ Machinery compatibility and field operations
📐 Agrivoltaic layout and co-design
🛰️ Specialised machinery and GNSS-guided operations
Join us to dig into the practical design questions that can determine how workable agrivoltaic land remains for farming.

📅 August 28, 2026
🕛 12:00–1:00 PM EST

Scan the QR code or click the link below to register!
144b1bbf-e8be-42e0-aa98-9fa89272b594@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/144b1bbf-e8be-42e0-aa98-9fa89272b594@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846

🚜☀️ Solar panels and farm machinery need to share more than just the same field.

Our August Community Exchange will explore agricultural mechanization compatibility in agrivoltaics with Yuri Bellone, PhD of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza.

From support posts and panel rows to reduced clearance and manoeuvring space, agrivoltaic infrastructure can create new challenges for everyday field operations.

We’ll look at how these constraints affect farm machinery, field efficiency and operating costs, and why co-design between agricultural needs and system layout matters.

📅 August 28, 2026
🕛 12:00–1:00 PM EST

Scan the QR code or click the link below to register!
144b1bbf-e8be-42e0-aa98-9fa89272b594@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/144b1bbf-e8be-42e0-aa98-9fa89272b594@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846

Where can agrivoltaics make the biggest impact? 🌾☀️

A new study mapped the spatial potential for agrivoltaics across Great Britain, identifying where dual-use solar systems could help reduce land-use conflicts between renewable energy and agriculture.

Key findings include:
✅ 127,087 km² of agricultural land suitable for agrivoltaics
✅ 20,272 km² of high-grade farmland where agrivoltaics could help avoid PV–agriculture land-use conflicts
✅ Up to 338 TWh/year of electricity generation while maintaining agricultural production
✅ 95% overlap between highly suitable agrivoltaic land and projected PV–agriculture conflict zones

The research demonstrates how spatial planning can support renewable energy expansion while helping preserve productive agricultural land.

Source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125527

As demand for solar energy grows, finding suitable land for new projects is becoming an increasingly important challenge.

This research from Arizona found that less than 2% of the state's land is considered Excellent for utility-scale solar PV, while 82% is constrained or unsuitable for conventional solar siting. The study also projects that urban growth will continue reducing the availability of high-quality solar development sites.

One solution highlighted by the research is agrivoltaics, combining solar energy generation with agriculture on the same land. By supporting dual land use, agrivoltaics can help expand renewable energy capacity while preserving productive farmland.

Source: https://www.proquest.com/openview/775828569f61b693930e4b4b6d0395e6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

🌾☀️ How does agrivoltaics change the landscape?

A new study from the Netherlands looked at four operational agrivoltaic projects to understand how these systems affect surrounding landscapes.

Key findings include:
✅ Agricultural landscape pattern and landscape openness changed most consistently.
✅ Landscape impacts varied depending on system design and site characteristics.
✅ Existing vegetation and farm structures helped reduce visual impacts.
✅ No changes to crop type or historic landscape structures were observed.

The researchers suggest that thoughtful siting and landscape-sensitive design can help reduce visual impacts while supporting public acceptance as agrivoltaics continues to grow.

📖 Read the study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837724000516

🌱☀️ How can agrivoltaic systems be designed to maximize benefits for both agriculture and renewable energy?

A recent study explored how agrivoltaic design influences crop productivity, solar energy generation, and water use in hot, dry climates.

Some key findings:
💧 Crop water use can be reduced by 30–40% of array coverage
🌿 Shade-tolerant crops may maintain or even increase productivity in hot, dry conditions
📈 Some designs achieved Land Equivalence Ratio (LER) values above 2, doubling land-use efficiency
⚙️ The best outcomes depend on array design, crop selection, and local climate

These findings demonstrate how thoughtful agrivoltaic design can help support food production, clean energy, and more efficient water use.

Source: Warmann et al. (2024)
📖 Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad2ab8

🌱 What if the same acre of farmland could grow beans and generate clean electricity?

New research shows that well designed agrivoltaic systems can:
☀️ Increase farm revenue by up to 3.4×
🫘 Maintain up to 94% of conventional bean yields
⚡ Generate up to 730,000 kWh of clean electricity per acre each year
📈 Deliver higher revenues than traditional farming, even with practical system layouts.

It's another exciting example of how agrivoltaics can bring food and energy production together.

Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/12/6350

Join us for the June edition of the Agrivoltaics Canada Community Exchange! 🚜☀️🌱

This month, we'll be exploring the latest research and industry insights on solar-over-crop agrivoltaics in North America, including:
✅ New crop yield research findings
✅ Agrivoltaic deployment lessons from industry
✅ Commercialization pathways for North America
✅ Audience Q&A and community discussion

Featuring insights from Dr. Uzair Jamil (University of Western Ontario), Anika Svensson (Sunzaun), Kevin Logue (Sunlight Energy), and Patrick Gossage (Agrivoltaics Canada).

📅 June 26, 2026
⏰ 12:00–1:00 PM EST
Register at: c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846

We look forward to seeing you there!

Have you been thinking about getting solar? If so, this session is for you! Join us July 23, 2026, at 12 p.m. to learn how solar installations work in Alberta, the impact solar can have on your electricity bill, tips for finding the right solar installer, financing options, and much more. Register here: https://solaralberta.ca/event/solar-101-solar-for-your-home-or-business-2/

*All registrants will receive a link to the webinar recording after the event. Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, you can still register to receive an email when the recording is available on our YouTube channel.