Solar and Farmland: Navigating Local Land Use, Conservation, and Farm Economics

As solar energy development continues to grow across Illinois, agrivoltaics is being explored as a way to balance renewable energy production, diversify income streams, and conserve farmland. Agrivoltaics is a developing field exploring how to integrate solar energy production alongside agricultural production. New projects are prompting community leaders to consider the potential benefits and tradeoffs of agrivoltaics. 

Explore trends and research around solar development and farmland conservation in this free webinar that covers: 

How solar energy development is affecting local land use, including solar land leases, the rate of farmland conversion to solar development, and an overview of the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement process required in Illinois that ensures land developed for solar is restored to pre-construction conditions.

American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar initiative, which brings solar developers, landowners, farmers, community organizations, and policymakers together to advance policies and programs that support renewable energy adoption while strengthening farm viability and protecting natural resources.

An analysis of the cost and benefits of row crops and solar panels from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Sustainability Colocating Agricultural and Photovoltaic Electricity Systems project.