A new study led by a senator from Oklahoma examined whether solar panels could be used in conjunction with the state's agriculture industry.
Senator Mary Boren of Oklahoma spearheaded the initiative to begin incorporating solar power with farming and ranching to help generate more income for small business growers, according to a report by High Plains Public Radio.
This practice of using land for both solar energy and agriculture is known as agrivoltaics. It's growing in popularity as more people turn to clean energy alternatives like solar and wind, and as demand increases.
"We've all heard the stories, we know the challenges that we're seeing as far as additional energy needs," said Clay Pope, partnership and external affairs manager at the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma, per High Plains Public Radio.
"But we also support the idea of trying to make sure that we give options to farmers and ranchers that those options are there to help protect the culture of rural Oklahoma and to keep that land if possible in some form of agricultural production."
Legislation that comes from this study could result in an advisory committee for managing the intersection of renewable energy projects and the agricultural industry.
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High Plains Public Radio cited data that estimates direct landowner payments for solar panel leases in Oklahoma "would amount to $1.15 billion over the lifespan of the planned projects."
More funding, research, and policy dedicated to agrivoltaics would provide stronger data to illustrate solar's potential for farmers. Installing panels on their land would provide a secondary stable income for small agricultural producers while mitigating some risk from slow farming seasons.
Bringing these two industries together will help curb pollution, conserve resources, and improve human health. Utilizing farmland to produce energy in addition to crops and meat is likely the future of agriculture because of the financial opportunities it gives farmers and the robust benefits to the environment.
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