W&J grad discusses sunny side of ‘agrisolar’ at energy webinar
Courtesy of Metro Creative
Deployment of solar panels, such as those out standing in a field at Pittsburgh International Airport, can be a major boon to farm production.
Roth
The hour-long seminar was virtual, but it was a homecoming for Michael Roth.
A 2015 graduate, Roth “returned” to Washington & Jefferson College on Wednesday to speak about “agrisolar” – a field in which agricultural production and photovoltaic energy generation complement one another.
His presentation – titled “And on His Farm He Had … a Photovoltaic System? Where Solar And Farming Meet” – is part of the lecture series organized by W&J’s Center for Energy Policy and Management.
Roth is director of Conservation and Innovation with the state Department of Agriculture, and pointed out several times during the late-morning webinar that the ag industry is strong and vital to the Keystone State. He cited a report by the state concluding that farming contributes $132.5 billion a year to Pennsylvania’s economy and supports nearly 600,000 jobs paying nearly $33 billion.
Yet there are concerns about food security, climate change and the vitality of farms, challenges that can be alleviated by operating a farm simultaneously with a solar energy source.
“Pennsylvania is very blessed,” Roth said, adding that the state is No. 1 nationwide in hardwoods, mushroom production and permanently preserved farmland (600,000 acres). And it is among the dairy leaders. “We do have 40 inches of rain a year, but we’re not seeing weather extremes like in California,” where farming also is big.
Agrisolar – also known as dual-use solar, or low-impact solar – is popular in Europe and is a rapidly growing dynamic in the United States, like the solar sector itself. Planning is paramount with this field, where plants and/or animals should be compatible with solar. They would include shade-tolerant crops, such as lettuce, and other crops, including some types of tomatoes.
Roth said animal compatibility would include apiaries, bees, poultry, cows and sheep. Rotational grazing – containing and moving animals in pastures – would improve the health of soil, plants and animals.
Agrisolar also could reduce a landowner’s bottom line. “Solar is proving to be a good investment for poultry farmers,” Roth said, explaining that ventilation needs – and costs – could be greatly reduced. Dairy farmers could benefit from the addition of solar, which could lessen heat stress on cows and enhance milk production.
Solar panels, he said, “pose a low risk” to an agricultural site because they are enclosed in glass, which is impervious to ultraviolet light and high temperatures from a full sun.
The W&J alum also said “wine making is definitely conducive with solar. You can protect the fruit.”
Solar projects come in two forms in Pennsylvania: net metered, in which panels usually are installed at homes or businesses, enabling users to be paid for the energy they provide to the grid; and utility scale, which generates more than 1 megawatt of solar energy.
Community solar, a project or purchasing program that could benefit multiple customers in a geographic area, is available in other states, but not the Keystone State. There is a bill before the state House, HB 1555, that, if passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor, would allow community solar. That bill, however, has not been acted upon since June 2021.
“That would allow rural communities in, say, Washington County to start a community solar project with neighbors,” Roth said.