Today’s Solutions: February 19, 2025

How sheep are powering the sol

How sheep are powering the solar boom in a win for sustainability and agriculture

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM On a sprawling solar farm in rural Texas, thousands of sheep are hard at work. Beneath rows of glinting panels, the animals nibble through lush pastures, turning vegetation management into an eco-friendly endeavor. At SB Energy’s 4,000-acre solar project in Read More...

Texas blends clean energy and

Texas blends clean energy and sustainable farming with the help of 6,000 sheep

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM As the United States accelerates its shift to renewable energy, Texas is pioneering an unusual approach that combines solar power generation and sustainable agriculture. This method, known as agrivoltaics, combines solar panels with agricultural practices to Read More...

Overlooking the solar photovoltaic panels and agricultural planting temperature shed

New solar panels harness the full light spectrum to improve crop yields

Crops and clean energy are increasingly sharing the same land as the globe struggles to deal with the climate problem and transitions to renewables and agrivoltaics — the cultivation of crops beneath the shade of solar panels. Scientists are now investigating how to harness the sun's light Read More...

Aerial photo above solar panels

This crop actually benefits from being shaded by solar panels

Solar panels often take up a lot of real estate that is also optimal for growing crops (flat land with access to lots of sunlight). Instead of having panels compete with plants, there is a growing field called agrivoltaics that studies how solar power and agriculture can exist together and even Read More...

Two woman work on agrivoltaic farm

This family farm is a model for agrivoltaic farming

We’ve previously written about agrivoltaics as a solution for improving solar and farming efficiency. Farms, like this one in Germany are real-world examples of the efficacy of these systems. Today we bring you the story of another farm benefiting from this symbiotic partnership. Byron Read More...

German farm demonstrates dual

German farm demonstrates dual benefits of agrivoltaic systems

Agrivoltaic systems make for the perfect symbiotic relationships on farms. They combine solar panels and farming to provide localized renewable energy while helping shade crops to reduce water usage. The plants also work to cool the solar panels for increased productivity. At one farm in Germany, Read More...

Solar companies and farmers ar

Solar companies and farmers are working together to harvest sunlight and food

For generations, we have been powering our lives with greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, damaging the environment and negatively impacting our atmosphere. Today, the effects of fossil fuels are tangible as we face climate change. Human innovation is making renewable sources of energy more Read More...

Agrivoltaics: The mission to c

Agrivoltaics: The mission to combine agriculture with solar farming

Are fields of open, often fertile land better used for producing renewable energy or food? The United States already hosts more than 2 million solar installations, and photovoltaic capacity is projected to more than double over the next five years. Meanwhile, our growing global population means Read More...

Meet the new (green) power cou

Meet the new (green) power couple: Solar Panels + Arid Farms

Renewable energy and sustainable food production are both in high demand as we move into a future of changing climate and growing population. But how do we allocate space for solar energy production and farmland when they both demand similar geographic conditions? Agrivoltaics, the process of Read More...