On the Fourth of July in 2013, I was driving through the Target parking lot on East Second Street. It was 108 degrees, and I wanted a sheltered place to park my car, but none was to be found.
It struck me then — as it still does — that parking lots are perfect for shade-structures covered in solar panels. PV shade generates clean electricity year-round and blocks the hot summer sun in large lots far better than heavily pruned trees.
That same week, I was riding my bicycle south of El Macero on Road 104, past Yolo County’s newly installed solar panels at Grasslands Regional Park. It struck me then — as I wrote in a column — that covering 21 acres of fertile farmland with solar panels was “off-target.”
But in the interim years, research in agrivoltaics — “the practice of co-locating solar energy generation and agriculture, creating a dual-use system for crops, livestock (like sheep grazing) and pollinators” — has shown that PV panels on farmland can make sense.
In a typical agrivoltaic application, solar panels are set 7 to 10 feet above the ground. They are spaced apart to create a mix of sun and shade for the crop. This arrangement shields plants from excessive heat, cold and ultraviolet radiation, and in turn increases the yield of many crops.
The main challenge of employing solar in agriculture is the high upfront cost. The frameworks needed on a farm are more substantial than those that carry rooftop photovoltaics, and to remain stable they require steel and concrete foundations that penetrate the ground. To maximize efficiency, the structures may also need the ability to tilt at different angles based on the crop, season and time of day.
That expense can be a big hurdle even for farm corporations in California. It can be a dealbreaker for farmers in poor, equatorial regions where climate catastrophes are now common.
Beside the obvious benefit of generating clean electricity — which can be sold back to the grid and used in place of diesel engines to power irrigation and farm equipment — dealing with draughts and hotter temperatures due to climate change is a major motivator of this new field of agriculture.
Not surprisingly, UC Davis has been a leader in studying the effects of combining solar energy-generation and farming. Led by Associate Professor Majdi Abou Najm of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, Davis researchers are working to find the best combinations of sun and shade to maximize productivity of various crops grown in California, now and in the future.
Prof Abou Najm told a UC Davis online publication, “This could be the future of agriculture as we adapt to climate challenges.”
In a farm plot on campus in 2024, Professor Abou Najm’s team tested different light, water and soil conditions on pepper and tomato plants. They compared the yield of some grown in full sun with ideal irrigation to others with varying amounts of solar-shade and reduced levels of irrigation.
The Davis group found that some solar shade increased the productivity of these crops compared with a control group — even using less water.
A similar South Korean study found that, “broccoli grown in AV plots were a more vibrant green. It’s very fresh-looking when compared with the more dullish green of conventionally grown plants.”
Earth.org recently reported, “One study found that the production of cherry tomatoes doubled and chiltepin peppers tripled under solar panels. It is a similar story on a test plot in Kenya, which reduced the amount of water needed for irrigation by 47% and grew cabbages that were 24% larger.”
By creating shade over the plants and soil, solar panels reduce evaporation and conserve water. The moisture that collects on the underside of the panels also cools them, and that in turn increases the efficiency of the photovoltaic panels, which are maximized in temps between 68 and 75 degrees F.
A University of Arizona researcher, Talitha Neesham-McTiernan, recently reported yet another critical benefit of AV farms: workers are using the shade to cool off. The measured temperature under the panels is generally 10 degrees lower than in direct sunshine.
Farmworkers in the U.S. are 35 times more likely than non-agricultural laborers to die from heat-related illnesses. So having a place to cool down and keep water colder can save lives.
Not every crop benefits from reduced sunlight. Wheat, for example, is less productive if it is partially shaded during the day.
Also, some soils are not suitable for farming fruit or vegetable crops. But those are often fine for grazing sheep, goats or domesticated fowl. In such cases, grasses can still grow under solar panels and the shade structures can help provide shelter for the animals from hot, cold or rainy weather.
According to a June, 2025 report on sciencedaily.com, researchers at Cornell and Colorado State University found that solar panels are beneficial to grasslands. They found PV structures “reduce water stress, improve soil moisture levels and — particularly during dry years — increase plant growth by about 20% or more compared to open fields.”
Where farmland is primarily used to generate electricity for nearby customers, flocks can be kept onsite to control weeds. According to NOLA.com, a new solar array in Monroe, Louisiana will provide clean power for 17,000 homes. Six hundred sheep will permanently graze beneath the panels, feeding the livestock while keeping weeds and grasses in check.
Given the productivity benefits to farmers, I expect to see a lot more solar panels on farms in our state in the next decade. Given the benefits to farmworkers, the environment, water supply and clean electricity generation, California’s public policy should be encourage this development.
— Rich Rifkin is a Davis resident; his column is published every other week. Reach him at Lxartist@yahoo.com.
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The primary motivation for solar panels on agricultural land in California is that we will likely to need to retire between 700,000 and 1,000,000 acres to align water supplies with farming requirements. We are now seriously overdrafted but state law aims to reach a balance by 2040. That land can be put to better use generating electricity with little water use.
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