Agrivoltaics is the use of land for both agriculture and photovoltaic energy production (USDA). Fruit and vegetable crops are excellent choices for agrivoltaics practices are they require smaller scale equipment than field crops- so their management is more easily adapted to agrivoltaics. 

We are testing multiple fruit and vegetable crops such as strawberries, raspberries, grapes, bell peppers, broccoli, and squash. Additionally, we are also testing the suitability of the solar farm for pollinator conservation and have installed pollinator mixes and honey bee hives on site. 

Tours are generally held during the summer months, but they can be scheduled year-round.

You can schedule tour by emailing our outreach coordinator, Michael Killewald: killewal@iastate.edu 

Please include information such as 

• Organization
• Group size
• Date(s) and time(s) you would be available for a tour

If you are interested in our research and would like to become involved in the project please contact our outreach coordinator: Michael Killewald killewal@iastate.edu 

We are utilizing an array of sensors across the site to monitor temperature, humidity, and light to determine ideal conditions for plant growth and development in this environment. 

We have utilized aerial drone imagery to monitor plant development during the growing season. This will be used to monitor changes in plant growth in and around the solar panels. 

Ecovoltaics is the management of photovoltaic projects in a sustainable manner. This may include the use of Agrivoltaic practices or may include other management options such as integrating habitat for insects or planting vegetation that helps to sequester carbon. 

Community scale solar projects allow individuals to subscribe to, or sometimes own, a portion of a solar array within the nearby area. As part of this membership or subscription, community members will receive a credit on their electric bill for their share of electricity generated at the nearby solar array.  Generally, community scale projects generate about 1–5 megawatts of power. See the U.S. Department of Energy page to learn more about community solar.

Utility scale solar projects are typically larger than community solar projects. Additionally, utility scale projects are generally owned by the utility companies and thus, do not provide bill credits to consumers. Since utility scale projects are larger, they also produce more power than community scale projects- up to 50 megawatts. 

The term “behind the meter” is used to describe energy that is produced and/or used on the consumer side of the meter. This could include solar arrays, wind turbined, or other energy producing means located on consumers property. Because the energy produced  is behind the meter, the consumer can use this energy for their own operations and reduce, or sometimes eliminate, the amount of energy they need to purchase. If more energy is produced than the consumer is utilizing, then the excess energy can be sold to the utility company- which is often paid to the consumer in the form of energy bill credits they can use in the future.