Arizona Farmers Harness Solar Energy to Shade Crops, Conserve Water, and Boost Power Production

WASHINGTON – Last summer, Phoenix experienced an unprecedented heatwave with 31 consecutive days where temperatures exceeded 110 degrees, highlighting the urgent need for innovative agricultural solutions in Arizona.

Farmers are now turning to solar panels to create shade, conserve water, and reduce energy bills, thanks to federal programs encouraging sustainable farming practices.

These photovoltaic panels, positioned above crops, harness the sun’s energy while providing essential shade. “The solar arrays will help reduce our water usage and improve efficiency,” said Derek Whitelock, a supervisory agricultural engineer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Plants don’t need as much sun as they get here in the West.”

A staggering three-fourths of Arizona’s water supply is consumed by agricultural irrigation, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. As the Colorado River Basin faces a Tier 1 water shortage, farmers are compelled to explore sustainable growing methods due to ongoing drought conditions.

The University of Arizona, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has established an agrivoltaics research site to study solar farming benefits in the state. “You are getting significant water savings,” said Greg Barron-Gafford, the UArizona professor leading the initiative.

Barron-Gafford’s study revealed that irrigation every other day on an agrivoltaic plot maintained soil moisture levels 15% higher than a non-shaded plot. Some plants, such as cowpea beans (black-eyed peas), even thrived with less water under solar panel shade, leading to higher yields.

A nonprofit organization, Growing Green, constructed an agrivoltaic plot on Spaces of Opportunity, a 19-acre community farm in Phoenix. Its 4.8 kW system meets about 40% of the farm’s energy needs and potentially could power the entire farm, reducing carbon emissions by 17,000 lbs annually compared to conventional energy sources.

“It really feels great to create a project that benefits the community, crops, and environment,” said Sarah Bendok, founder of Growing Green.

Federal initiatives, such as the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), have allocated $63 million to Arizona from 2018 to 2022 to support sustainable farming. REAP provides loans and grants to farmers investing in clean energy, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022.

The IRA includes a 30% tax credit for farmers incorporating solar panels into their operations. In another initiative, the Gila River Indian Community began installing solar panels over the Casa Blanca Canal with $5.65 million in federal funding. This project will cover nearly 3,000 feet of the canal, conserving water and generating over 1.31 megawatts of green energy, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.