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Doral Renewables, Nextpower and Purdue University are partnering to study agrovolaics.
WEST LAFAYETTE — Mammoth Solar is partnering with Purdue University and a coalition of public and private groups to launch a Midwest research effort focused on strengthening rural communities against extreme weather and rising energy demand.
The initiative, known as Midwest Agrivoltaics for Resilient Communities, or MARC, was created under the National Science Foundation Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator program. The Phase 1 award positions the team to compete for up to $15 million in Phase 2 funding to expand research and implementation.
Agrivoltaics combines solar energy production with agricultural use on the same land. The project aims to address mounting concerns across the Midwest, where hailstorms, heat waves and high winds have damaged crops and strained electric systems. Researchers will study how dual-use solar installations can protect farmland, improve grid reliability and help farmers diversify income.
Mammoth Solar will dedicate a research and demonstration zone within its project area in Pulaski and Starke counties for crop trials, robotics testing and advanced monitoring. The company is a joint venture of Doral Renewables.
The effort also includes collaboration with Nextpower, formerly Nextracker, which will provide solar tracker technology and planning software to support agricultural monitoring and system performance modeling under severe weather conditions.
Project leaders say the partnership is designed to evaluate how agrivoltaics can improve land-use efficiency, maintain farm productivity and bolster long-term economic stability in rural communities.
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