NC West Virginia News

West Virginia University researchers are exploring the benefits of solar panels on small cattle farms with the support of $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Matt Wilson, professor of animal sciences in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, and founder of the Alliance for Regenerative Livestock, stated that panels can generate solar energy on grazing lands and establish more sustainable cattle-raising practices.

Wilson, who is leading the research, will be applying dual-use solar—also known as agrivoltaics—which seeks ways to combine solar panels with agricultural uses like crop production, livestock, or pollinator habitats.

As part of a collaboration with Appalachian Renewable Power (ARP), the university will be researching soil, grasses, and cattle around the solar systems while ARP will perform design and installation.

The grant is part of the DOE’s $71 million investment—including $16 million from the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—in developing a network of domestic solar energy manufacturers.

Currently, 68% of agricultural producers in West Virginia have some sort of off-farm income because they cannot make a living in agriculture alone. Wilson said technology like solar would help diversify a farm’s income stream. Moreover, new and greener technology may appeal to younger generations since the average age of agricultural producers in West Virginia is around 70.

“Young people don't want to go into agriculture because they perceive it’s backbreaking work and low technology,” Wilson said. “But there are opportunities for a high-tech, multi-revenue stream and comprehensive things that a person can do to make a living in agriculture.”

West Virginia receives an abundance of rain beneficial to grasslands required by cattle; however, its topography doesn’t lend itself to row-crop agriculture. Livestock can graze on hillsides and mountainsides where renewable energy is also being generated.

Wilson acknowledged that this notion has its detractors: “One of the largest hurdles that renewable energy is starting to face is that everybody wants all their energy from a renewable source, but they don’t want to see the windmills. They don’t want to see the solar panels. They definitely don’t want to put up panels that displace agriculture,” he said.

Despite these objections, solar developers prefer agricultural lands due to minimal need for remediation of environmental problems. “From a cost perspective, if I’m a solar developer, I want to pick a place where I won’t have to worry about legacy chemicals,” Wilson noted. “We’ve been trying to pursue agrivoltaics. If we could design the source system so that they were in high-quality pasture where you’re both raising a calf crop and energy on the same acreage instead of switching purposes—you’ve now got dual purpose.”

Wilson’s primary research has focused on improving beef industry sustainability through breeding more robust animals consuming fewer resources. Over two decades, he developed a system for measuring feed intake, water intake, and beef herd performance which he will use to study animals grazing under solar arrays.

He proposed installing both traditional flat panels as well as bifacial solar photovoltaic cells held together by netting—the latter preventing water runoff affecting soil hydrology.

“That’s our big goal with this project,” he said. “Install some solar and then study how animals perform in that scenario under the panels. Then we can start making recommendations for producers if they’re interested.”

Ember Morrissey, associate professor of environmental microbiology involved in studying potential impacts on soil health from dual-solar use within this project added: “My team will collect and analyze soil samples from pasture with novel agrivoltaics panels as well as traditional pastures.” This analysis aims at determining whether incorporating solar panels into pasture ecosystems alters soil health.

Establishing policy going forward will also be key since electricity producers don’t get paid for generation currently. Wilson envisions an agricultural exemption allowing farmers compensation for solar although questions remain regarding arrays generating more power than needed by farms.

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