Fast Track For One New Agrivoltaic Project In California, More To Follow

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Last Updated on: 2nd April 2025, 05:28 pm

Critics of rural solar development argue that solar energy is an inappropriate use of farmland, but what about exhausted or marginal farmland that can support solar panels plus grasses and other native species to support livestock farming? Yes, what about it? Dual use is the foundational concept behind the emerging agrivoltaic trend, and with the surging popularity of solar grazing the critics are running out of bad things to say.

Fast Track For 300-Megawatt Agrivoltaic Project

The latest news about agrivoltaics comes from California, where a new, timeline-sensitive process for environmental review has been introduced for energy projects and other key infrastructure, including solar development.

The new streamlining legislation, SB 149 into law in 2023. It is the latest iteration of a 2011 law aiming to avoid unnecessary delays resulting from lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The new CEQA Judicial Streamlining Program is managed by the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.

On March 20, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has certified the new Cornucopia Hybrid Project agrivoltaic project in Fresno County for construction under CEQA, consisting of a 300-megawatt solar array, a 300-megawatt battery energy storage, and provisions for solar grazing.

“The site was carefully selected to be on non-prime agricultural land, ensuring it does not disrupt valuable farmland,” the Govornor’s Office explains.

“The project will use a dual-use model, with sheep grazing alongside solar panels to help manage vegetation, reduce fire risks, and improve soil health,” they elaborate.

Other livestock can be used for solar grazing, too. An agrivoltaic array can host cattle and other larger grazing animals, though sheep are preferred because there is a lower risk of damage to the equipment due to their smaller size. Unlike goats, sheep are also not likely to climb all over the solar panels.

Abandoned Farms & Fire Risks

If you caught that thing about reducing fire risks, that sticks out like a sore thumb. Generally speaking, solar arrays are on the receiving end of fire risks, just like any other human-made structure out in rural areas. In the case of wildfires, those risks are increasing in the age of climate change, here in the US and around the world.

The idea that an agrivoltaic array can proactively help reduce fire risks is new to the pages of CleanTechnica, so let’s take a closer look as it applies to wildfires.

Agrivoltaic or not, solar arrays for on-site or local power generation can help reduce wildfire risks by reducing or eliminating the need for overhead transmission wires. However, another, broader benefit is also emerging in the research.

The environmental consequences of land abandonment have attracted more attention from researchers in recent years, partly due to increased risk of wildfire in the age of climate change.

“Abandoned farmland has been increasing, with a billion acres — an area half the size of Australia — lost globally,”  Yale 360 pointed out in 2023, adding that the US has lost about 1/6 of its farmland in just the past 30 years.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Earth. Rewilding and carbon capture can result when random vegetation overgrows abandoned farms. However, Yale 360 also points out the downside. “Land abandonment has also been linked to soil erosion, desertification, and an increased risk of wildfires,” they point out.

Somewhat ironically, the increase in wildfire risk can offset any carbon capture gains from rewilding, or worse. “Shrubbier landscapes can be susceptible to fires, tipping the balance from a carbon sink to a carbon source,” explains Gergana Daskalova, an expert cited by Yale 360.

The Solar Grazing Solution

Aside from farms that are outright abandoned, paying farmers to deliberately pull their land out of production is a common practice meant to rebuild soil health, long supported by the US Department of Agriculture.

Whether or not that practice is sustainable under current and future wildfire risk scenarios remains to be seen. In the meantime agrivoltaic projects — specifically, solar grazing — can offer a middle ground that provides new opportunities for vegetation control alongside soil and grassland restoration.

As one measure of the appeal of agrivoltaic practices to farmland conservation stakeholders, the leading organizations American Farmland Trust and The Nature Conservancy are among those endorsing the agrivoltaic field as a solution that keeps farmland in circulation while providing an alternative to other, more invasive and permanent forms of non-farm development such as housing, fulfillment centers, and industrial enterprises (see lots more solar grazing background here).

Nobody Can Stop The Agrivoltaic Revolution

The developer of the Cornucopia solar project is the Americas branch of the leading global renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. Despite the sudden shift in federal energy policy in the US, Germany-based BayWa r.e. has spotted a ripe opportunity in the agrivoltaic field, leveraging solar-friendly policies in California among other states.

“This milestone is a win for both the state and Fresno County, helping accelerate infrastructure that powers homes and businesses while creating good-paying jobs, driving economic growth, and strengthening energy resilience,” a BayWa r.e. spokeperson enthused in a press release issued by the Governor’s office.

The Governor’s Office also deployed the same release to provide a primer on the new fast-track process.

“The judicial streamlining process sets clear timelines for resolving CEQA-related legal challenges. Through SB 7 (2021) and SB 149 (2023), projects that meet certain criteria can be certified for judicial streamlining,” they explain. Under the law, there is a 270-day limit for resolving legal challenges (when feasible, that is), but projects must still undergo the CEQA review process, including community engagement.

What About State Level Policy?

California is not the only agrivoltaic hotspot to emerge in the US. Texas has also quickly gained ground in the solar grazing field, although Republican lawmakers in the state have been working hard to quash renewable energy development.

Whelp, their loss. Texas is not immune to wildfires or the farm abandonment trend. Meanwhile, researchers have noted that a healthy proportion — 54% — of abandoned cropland nationwide already reverted to grassland or pasturage between 1980 and 2018, indicating that the cropland-to-grazing trend was well under way long before solar energy hit the mass market.

Just add solar panels, and — well, if Texas farmers who are struggling with cash flow can’t take advantage of a reliable new revenue stream from solar leases, plenty of real estate investors are ready to step in and make a quick buck off the land.

Pro tip: Next time, don’t vote for the convicted felon.

What do you think, could agrivoltaic projects help reduce the risk of wildfire and help keep more farms afloat despite the new pressures foisted upon US farmers by Trump’s tariff wars? Drop a note in the comment thread or better yet, find your representatives in Congress and let them know what you think.

Photo (cropped): A new agrivoltaic project in California will incorporate solar grazing, putting non-prime to farmland to use for sheep farming as well as renewable energy production (courtesy of Baywa.r.e.).