Landowners in agricultural areas may be enticed to sell underproducing farmland to developers as vast swaths of land are needed to build massive data centers. However, agrivoltaics—pairing solar energy generation with crop production—is keeping some farmland profitable enough to relieve the pressure to sell.
There are 1214 operating data centers in the United States with a combined capacity of 57,431 MW, according to market intelligence firm Cleanview, and 1788 planned projects that would add 366,278 MW of additional capacity. While most operational data centers are near more populated areas, as shown on the map, the planned projects will demand huge swaths of available land.
Large data centers require upwards of 1000 acres, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, which states that “siting one of these facilities in an otherwise agricultural area could obviously impact land values…”. The Federation notes other negative impacts of large data centers in agricultural areas including massive energy demand, water use, stormwater runoff in addition to increased noise and lighting and decreased quality of life.
As of September 2024, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) had identified 584 sites covering roughly 62,350 acres in the U.S., with a combined capacity of over 10 GW, as cited in Georgia Tech’s report Harvesting the sun twice: Agrivoltaics and land use. While agrivoltaics is gaining traction, the Georgia researchers stress the need for “thoughtful planning and effective policymaking” to encourage agrivoltaics, the benefits of which to the farmer is that it can create dual revenue streams.
When farmers lease their land for solar production, the payments to the farmer can deliver predictable, long-term income, a reliable financial element uncommon in the agricultural business model according to Farming the Sun, a report from the Solar Energy Manufacturers of America (SEMA).
Farmers shoulder large upfront costs every year with no guarantee of a return, yet lease payments provide a predicable, long-term income, the report says, providing “a financial cushion that keeps farms in family hands instead of being sold to developers or corporate buyers.”
According to the Purdue University–CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, in early 2024, over 50% of farmers who discussed solar leasing projects reported being offered $1,000 per acre or more per year. According to the SEMA report, this often surpasses the net return achievable from traditional crop production on the same acreage.
[Read Solar provides predictable income stream for farms]
Agrivoltaics as a business
David Norbut has made a big business out of putting solar on working farms.
The four different divisions of the Norbut companies demonstrate its commitment to not only stewarding its own land with solar and storage but helping others to do so. Norbut Solar Farms (NSF) is the development company that focuses on design and engineering, utility interconnection and permitting. To date NSF developed over 500 MW of solar in New York State with 30 MW of storage in the ground and currently has another 103 MW of solar under construction.
What sets Norbut apart from traditional real estate developers is that he doesn’t see stewardship and development as opposites. Stewardship requires long-term, generational thinking, Norbut said, adding that, “in our view, stewardship is what makes development sustainable financially and environmentally.”
Another business model is adding crops or livestock to a large-scale solar installation. Bradford Quigley was previously the manager of a large ranch in Texas, but as soon as agrivoltaics caught his eye he had a new business idea that motivated him to co-found Solar Ranch Xperts.
After becoming certified by the American Solar Grazing Association, Quigley and his partner, Justin Trimble, focused on bringing sustainable sheep grazing methods to solar installations in Texas.
Texas is now ranked second in the country for solar capacity, according to SEIA, and it was first in new solar additions in 2025. Currently with over 53 GW installed, solar capacity in the Lone Star state is only going to grow. As Quigley said in a Linkedin post, with that growth comes the need for vegetation management solutions that are “sustainable, cost-effective, and aligned with the ecological values of the rural communities where these projects are built.”
Like agrivoltaics in general, solar grazing helps the bottom line. “It is a practical, proven, and rapidly scalable solution to a real operational challenge and it is one that, done right, benefits the land, the animals, the developer, and the community at the same time.”
Planning and policymaking
In some agricultural areas of the country farmers won’t be faced with a choice between selling land for the purpose of data center development any time soon because moratoriums are putting a pause on construction. The USDA counts 354 counties as “farming-dependent,” meaning farming drives the local economy; ten of which have banned data centers, according to Learnewable, a company specializing in data-driven site assessment.
Aside from banning data centers on agricultural land, a proactive approach to supporting solar on farmland is to write it into zoning and land-use rules The American Farmland Trust (AFT) made policy recommendations to support more agrivoltaic buildout, which it said currently represents less than 5% of solar capacity installed in the U.S.
Learnewable president and founder pointed to a small number of counties are supporting agrivoltaics by making it a condition for using farmland in solar development. For example, Chaffee County, Colorado allows solar above 20 acres on working farmland only if the design keeps farming underneath. Montour County, Pennsylvania restricts building on its best soils without it. Delta County, Colorado approved the 80 MW Garnet Mesa Solar project after sheep grazing and irrigation were added to the plan.
Several states are also supporting agrivoltaics through incentive programs. According to ATF, these include financial incentives in Massachusetts, reduction of per-acre mitigation fees in New York and Maine, and property tax reductions in Colorado. However, the ATF noted that support varies widely and that what’s needed is a farm-centered statutory definition that will expand agrivoltaics while still encouraging innovative solar development. To that end ATF developed Smart Solar policy recommendations.
Virginia is an example of a state that recently passed legislation that recognizes a formal definition of agrivoltaics in the state, which ATF sees as “an important step toward greater clarity on how solar development and agriculture can intersect to increase financial benefits for farmers.” There are currently 371 operating data centers in Virginia with a combined capacity of 17,378 MW, and 457 planned projects that would add 38,530 MW of capacity, according to Cleanview. The new legislation in Virginia helps align agricultural policy with the increasing energy demand. The ATF concludes that “The work ahead lies in ensuring outcomes that keep productive farmland in farming while supporting farm viability and meeting the region’s growing energy needs.”
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