Agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaics keep the land productive for present and future generations

Conventional solar farms typically require the removal of land from crop or livestock production for decades. Agrivoltaics, however, leave room for complementary agricultural practices, including livestock grazing, crop production, and beekeeping (U.S. Department of Energy 2023). With agrivoltaics, landowners can dedicate a fraction of their land to solar energy—either through owning or leasing—and continue farming.

Alternatively, Hoosier sheep farmers can provide vegetation management on solar farms, keeping vegetation from obstructing panels at a fraction of the cost of mowing. When sheep graze the land under solar panels, they also turn the grass into fertilizer, rejuvenating soil that can be returned to farming after the solar is decommissioned (McGee 2019). Through land lease payments or solar grazing services, partnering with a solar site can provide a diversified and steady income stream for Hoosier farmers (Clean Grid Alliance 2025).

94percent of farms family-owned and operated in Indiana

$8,181per acre, total production value of solar energy, among the most valuable land uses in the state

70percent of surveyed farmers nationally who indicate openness to agrivoltaics projects

Hoosier farmers are already benefiting from agrivoltaics

In Indiana, farmers are already pioneering agrivoltaics practices, the most common being sheep grazing.

Hoosier sheep farmers are providing grazing and vegetation management services for large- and small-utility scale solar sites, while maintaining sheep at their home farms during the winter.

Mammoth North Solar, which stretches across Starke and Pulaski Counties, has land-lease contracts with 65 families and works with local sheep farmers. Bellflower Solar, a solar site in Rush and Henry Counties, also relies on sheep grazing to manage vegetation. Additionally, Bellflower Solar contracts with a local honeybee farmer to manage over 100 beehives on site.

Early studies have shown agrivoltaics also has the potential to compliment traditional row crops, such as corn and soybeans. Purdue researchers have found that shading from solar panels has a minimal impact on corn yields—approximately an 8% decrease in yields in heavily shaded areas (Purdue University n.d.). These losses can be more than offset by the revenue generated from solar.

Additionally, seeding solar sites with pollinator habitat can have positive spillover effects on adjacent farm fields, improving the quantity and quality of more than 100 commercial crops (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2026).