Agrivoltaics Canada

🌱☀️ How can agrivoltaic systems be designed to maximize benefits for both agriculture and renewable energy?

A recent study explored how agrivoltaic design influences crop productivity, solar energy generation, and water use in hot, dry climates.

Some key findings:
💧 Crop water use can be reduced by 30–40% of array coverage
🌿 Shade-tolerant crops may maintain or even increase productivity in hot, dry conditions
📈 Some designs achieved Land Equivalence Ratio (LER) values above 2, doubling land-use efficiency
⚙️ The best outcomes depend on array design, crop selection, and local climate

These findings demonstrate how thoughtful agrivoltaic design can help support food production, clean energy, and more efficient water use.

Source: Warmann et al. (2024)
📖 Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad2ab8

🌱 What if the same acre of farmland could grow beans and generate clean electricity?

New research shows that well designed agrivoltaic systems can:
☀️ Increase farm revenue by up to 3.4×
🫘 Maintain up to 94% of conventional bean yields
⚡ Generate up to 730,000 kWh of clean electricity per acre each year
📈 Deliver higher revenues than traditional farming, even with practical system layouts.

It's another exciting example of how agrivoltaics can bring food and energy production together.

Source: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/12/6350

Join us for the June edition of the Agrivoltaics Canada Community Exchange! 🚜☀️🌱

This month, we'll be exploring the latest research and industry insights on solar-over-crop agrivoltaics in North America, including:
✅ New crop yield research findings
✅ Agrivoltaic deployment lessons from industry
✅ Commercialization pathways for North America
✅ Audience Q&A and community discussion

Featuring insights from Dr. Uzair Jamil (University of Western Ontario), Anika Svensson (Sunzaun), Kevin Logue (Sunlight Energy), and Patrick Gossage (Agrivoltaics Canada).

📅 June 26, 2026
⏰ 12:00–1:00 PM EST
Register at: c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846

We look forward to seeing you there!

Have you been thinking about getting solar? If so, this session is for you! Join us July 23, 2026, at 12 p.m. to learn how solar installations work in Alberta, the impact solar can have on your electricity bill, tips for finding the right solar installer, financing options, and much more. Register here: https://solaralberta.ca/event/solar-101-solar-for-your-home-or-business-2/

*All registrants will receive a link to the webinar recording after the event. Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, you can still register to receive an email when the recording is available on our YouTube channel.

Rise Up For Renewables - Solar Alberta Solar Alberta and friends are rising up for renewables. We are taking action, and we want you to join us! Below are ways that you […]

🌱☀️ How close is North America to commercial solar-over-crop agrivoltaics?
Join us for our June Community Exchange as we dive into the latest North American research and explore what it will take to move from pilot projects to large-scale deployment.

We're excited to welcome Dr. Uzair Jamil (University of Western Ontario), Anika Svenssion (Sunzaun), Kevin Logue (Sunlight Energy), and Patrick Gossage (Agrivoltaics Canada) as our speakers this month! Bring your questions, share your experiences, and connect with others interested in the future of agrivoltaics in North America.

📅 June 26
⏰ 12:00 PM EST
Register at c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c5e4890d-6bdb-4a01-937f-6e3a039057c5@514fce24-1e2b-4643-a705-199fa45d5846

Our online Community Exchange got off to a roaring start in May! Bringing over 70 agricultural and energy professionals together to explore the vital role agrivoltaics is carving itself in Ontario’s clean energy future.

Panelists Patrick Gossage (Agrivoltaics Canada), Doug Deeks (CarbonFree Technology), Jonathan Cheszes (Compass Greenfield Development), and Justin Woodward (Good Energy Partners) unpacked the many benefits expected from the successful agrivoltaics projects from Window 1 of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)’s LT2 competitive energy procurement:

• The upcoming projects will provide a much-needed source of steady, reliable income for participating farmers, with additional revenue flowing to the local communities and indigenous partners involved
• At an average price of 8.8 cents per kWh, the successful LT2 Window 1 projects demonstrate ​the ability of renewable energy sources to be incredibly cost-competitive
• The inclusion of agrivoltaics strongly influenced local community acceptance of these projects
• The use of solar grazing will allow these projects to help Ontario meet its ambitious target of doubling lamb production by 2040, enabling it to better meet domestic demand while reducing reliance on imports

However, it was also highlighted that while agrivoltaics could enable solar power to be generated closer to load in Ontario, current land use policies restrict this from being the case, preventing farmers from taking part and benefiting from this exciting opportunity.

Our next Community Exchange will take place on Friday 26th June, with more details to come shortly – mark your calendars!

🌱⚡ Can agrivoltaics power the AI boom?
A new study suggests the answer could be yes.

By combining solar energy generation with agriculture on the same land, agrivoltaics could help meet growing electricity demand from AI and data centres without taking farmland out of production.

Highlights from the research:
• Agrivoltaics could help power AI and data centres while keeping land in food production
• Just 1% of farmland in the 26 U.S. states studied could generate up to 1,722 TWh of electricity annually
• Vertical agrivoltaics on 1% of farmland could supply nearly 10% of U.S. electricity demand

Read the full study to learn more about the potential role of agrivoltaics in supporting sustainable AI growth.

source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050475926004598

🇨🇦 vs 🇺🇸 Who loves agrivoltaics more? 🌾☀️
Support for agrivoltaics is growing across North America, with strong public backing for combining farming and solar energy. A recent Forbes article looked at how support for agrivoltaics is growing across North America and why more communities are getting behind combining farming with solar energy.

🐑 Solar grazing can reduce vegetation management costs
⚡ Agrivoltaics helps generate renewable electricity while keeping land in production
🌱 Ontario’s LT2 procurement selected 8 new solar grazing projects

Agrivoltaics is quickly shifting from a niche concept to a mainstream conversation across the energy and agriculture sectors.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshpearce/2026/04/30/does-canada-or-america-love-agrivoltaics-more/

🌱🍇 Can agrivoltaics help climate-proof Canadian vineyards while generating clean energy?

One of the standout discussions at this year’s Agrivoltaics Canada Conference explored a first-of-its-kind commercial scale agrivoltaics project planned for BC’s wine region. The proposed system combines solar generation with advanced vineyard protection strategies designed to shield crops from extreme heat, wildfire smoke, hail, and freezing temperatures. The project aims to increase vineyard yields by 10–30% while supporting more consistent grape quality and renewable energy production. 🍷☀️

Jesseof Double Barrel Vineyards, presented the system at this year’s Agrivoltaics Canada conference.

The session also highlighted the realities of bringing agrivoltaics to commercial scale in Canada, from regulatory approvals and financing challenges to changing perceptions around dual-use farmland. As climate pressures intensify across agriculture, conversations like these are becoming increasingly important for the future of food and energy systems in Canada.

Read the full blog on our website 👇
https://agrivoltaicscanada.ca/news/f/agrivoltaics-to-increase-bc-vineyard-yields-by-10-30%25

Agrivoltaics to increase BC Vineyard Yields by 10-30% A large-scale agrivoltaics system designed to significantly increase vineyard yields while generating renewable energy is set to be installed in British Columbia (BC) by the end of the year.