By Raina Hornaday.
Agrivoltaics—the practice of using land for both solar energy generation and agricultural production—is gaining momentum in Texas as a win-win strategy for sustainable development. As the Lone Star State grapples with rapid population growth, rising energy demand, and the ongoing loss of farmland, agrivoltaics presents a compelling vision: why choose between solar and agriculture when you can do both on the same acres?
American Farmland Trust: Defining and Advancing Agrivoltaics
The American Farmland Trust (AFT) is leading national efforts to define and implement agrivoltaics in ways that work for both farmers and energy developers. According to AFT, a true agrivoltaic system is a ground-mounted photovoltaic array that is intentionally planned and designed with input from agricultural producers or experts to support the simultaneous production of solar energy and marketable agricultural goods throughout the full life of the array—typically 30 to 40+ years.
AFT’s Smart Solar principles call for prioritizing development on built or marginal lands, conserving high-value farmland, and scaling agrivoltaics to help keep working lands productive. Their policy recommendations emphasize the need for clear, farm-centered definitions in state and federal incentive programs, technical assistance for producers, and meaningful community engagement to ensure that agrivoltaics serves both the energy and agricultural sectors.
Solar Grazing: The Texas Model
One of the most tangible examples of agrivoltaics in action is solar grazing—using flocks of sheep to manage vegetation at solar farms. This practice is booming in Texas. Thousands of sheep have been deployed across solar farms as a sustainable alternative to gas-powered mowers and chemical herbicides. Sheep are exceptionally well-suited for this role—they can graze safely beneath and around solar panels without causing damage, while also reducing wildfire risk and naturally enhancing soil health through fertilization and aeration.
For landowners, agrivoltaics creates valuable new revenue streams—lease payments from solar developers, grazing contracts, and continued agricultural production on the same land. As one Texas rancher shared, “We’re not losing anything… we’re just doing it differently.” This dual-use model helps “drought-proof” and “market-proof” farm income, offering economic resilience for rural communities.
Research and Land Management
Incorporating agrivoltaics in utility-scale solar emphasizes biodiversity, long-term stewardship, and community collaboration—working closely with landowners to ensure each project is a good neighbor. Meanwhile, academic research demonstrates that agrivoltaics can reduce land-use conflict, increase water retention, and even boost crop yields—particularly in arid and semi-arid areas like much of Texas.
Policy: Oklahoma’s Agrivoltaics Act
Oklahoma is now charting its own path with the first proposed legislation in the country. The Oklahoma Agrivoltaics Act (HB 2157), currently in conference committee, seeks to align renewable energy development with agricultural productivity. The bill would establish a 17-member Agrivoltaics Advisory Committee—including representatives from agriculture, renewable energy, Tribal governments, and forestry—to guide policy and best practices.
The legislation acknowledges that agrivoltaics can enhance agricultural productivity, particularly in dry regions where photovoltaic shading improves soil health and reduces water loss. Oklahoma, with its vast agricultural landscape and expanding solar industry, is well-positioned to benefit from this integrated approach.
Together, Texas and Oklahoma are modeling how states with deep agricultural roots and strong energy ambitions can create smart, sustainable policies that promote dual-use land strategies.
The Big Picture: Texas at the Agrivoltaic Frontier
With vast solar potential, a thriving agricultural economy, and trailblazing efforts like those at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas is poised to become a national leader in agrivoltaics—provided policy support and public engagement continue to grow. The benefits are broad: economically, agrivoltaics reduces operating costs and diversifies rural income; environmentally, it improves soil health, reduces emissions, conserves water, and enhances biodiversity; operationally, it supports vegetation management, mitigates wildfire risk, and improves community perception of solar projects by preserving working lands.
As interest in agrivoltaics accelerates, strong collaboration between the energy and agriculture sectors—bolstered by academic research, responsive policy, and grassroots leadership—will be essential. Texas has a unique opportunity to show the world how to harvest the sun twice: once for clean power, and once for productive, resilient agriculture.
Education on Agrivoltaics: CleanTX and Solar Austin
In celebration of Earth Day, CleanTX and TXSES local chapter Solar Austin, co-hosted an educational event in Austin that brought together solar professionals, ranchers, advocates, and researchers. The program featured a solar sheep rancher, an operations and maintenance director, a local agrivoltaics installer, and a PhD student who wrote his dissertation on the topic. Together, they offered a holistic perspective on the promise and challenges of agrivoltaics in Texas.
Raina Hornaday is a Texas Solar Energy Society board member, a fifth-generation rancher, and an advocate for renewable sustainable land use in Texas.
Photo by Jeff Peterson of Pastoral Solar Land in San Saba; sheep and solar panels on a farm in Bastrop County, Texas