Canada vs America Agrivoltaics

Canadian solar farms were some of the first in the world to have agrivoltaics of a different type: sheep agrivoltaics. Solar farms shade the ground and it turns out that one of the many crops that enjoys a little partial shading is simple pasture grass. You get more grass under the solar panels because they create a microenvironment that is a little cooler and conserves water. On the other hand, the sheep eat all the weeds on the solar farm cutting out the cost of conventional vegetation management for solar farm owners. A study looked at the profitability of agrivoltaic sheep grazing and lamb husbandry business models for solar shepherds. Solar shepherds rake in profits. According to Glassdoor, shepherds in Canada normally make $58,000/year, while solar shepherds can expect to make two to three times as much.

Not to let Canada win, America has also been aggressively installing agrivoltaics all over the country of a wide variety of systems (see map).

What do People Living in Canada and America Say About Agrivoltaics

Sure, America has more agrivoltaics than Canada does today, but America is much bigger. Who really likes agrivoltaics more? To answer that question there are a pair of surveys run in both the US and Canada. First, in Canada: only 1% of Canada’s agrivoltaic potential could eliminate the country’s reliance on fossil fuel-based electricity. Given that rural communities are central to both agriculture and renewable energy transitions, understanding public perceptions of agrivoltaics is critical for informed policy and implementation. The study investigated community attitudes toward agrivoltaics through a structured, nationwide survey addressing economic, environmental, and social dimensions of renewable energy acceptance. Results reveal that 85.8% of Canadian respondents support agrivoltaics, though preferences differed by configuration and province. Stilt-mounted agrivoltaics received the highest support at 92.6%, followed by greenhouse-integrated systems and solar grazing with sheep. Installations over perennial crops and trees were the least favored but still received over 80% approval. Regional differences were observed, with Nova Scotia (95.6%), Manitoba (93.0%), and British Columbia (92.9%) showing the strongest support and Yukon the lowest.

Meanwhile in America, another survey study assessed if U.S. public support for solar development increases when energy and agricultural production are combined in an agrivoltaic system. Results show that 81.8% of American respondents would be more likely to support solar development in their community if it integrated agricultural production. This increase in support for solar given the agrivoltaic approach highlights a development strategy that can improve local social acceptance and the deployment rate of solar. Survey respondents prefer agrivoltaic projects that:

• are designed to provide economic opportunities for farmers and the local community
• are not located on public property
• do not threaten local interests and
• ensure fair distribution of economic benefits.

Proactively identifying what the public perceives as opportunities and concerns related to agrivoltaic development can help improve the design, business model, and siting of systems in the U.S.

Who Wins More Canada or America?

By simply comparing the total public support of America and Canada it might first appear that while both countries love agrivoltaics, the Canadians love it more (roughly 86% to 82%), but the nuances of the studies are important. The Canadian study was national, meaning that it represents a broader swath of the Canadian public. The American study focused on the middle of the country – Michigan and Texas. Both states already have a lot of agrivoltaics (Texas tripled their sheep population to help with the solar grazing), but they are relatively small players compared to Michigan’s neighbor Minnesota that has the greatest number of agrivoltaic installations in America currently. Other states like California, New York, and Massachusetts are also leading in agrivoltaics and were not included in the survey. If they were, would the U.S. agrivoltaics love value go up? It looks like another study is needed. What is clear though is that throughout North America, the general population is in favor of agrivoltaics done right (Mexico is interested in agrivoltaics to guard crops in drought prone areas). Agrivoltaics really is a win-win for everyone as it allows you to preserve food production and farming/shepherding jobs, while also produce abundant low-cost renewable electricity.

Why Don’t We See Agrivoltaics Everywhere?

It depends where you live. The Vatican, for example, already is run on 100% agrivoltaic power. The reason Minnesota has so much agrivoltaics going on is because of legislation that streamlined the process for solar developers. In other jurisdictions it is not so easy. Other jurisdictions are held back by regulations and inertia. Right across the border in Ontario, for example they are just fixing the rules to allow for more agrivoltaics – but it is literally illegal to do agrivoltaics in some parts of the Province. These rules are being fixed (no one wants to tell farmers they can’t improve their land to make more food and more money with agrivoltaics). Agrivoltaics Canada reports that the just released Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Long-Term 2 (LT2) procurement has seen a major foothold for agrivoltaics, with 8 new giant solar projects selected to include solar grazing. With these results there will be more shepherd jobs in Ontario, and lots more sheep. The only losers would then be Australia, which supplied about 48% and New Zealand, which supplied roughly 45.8% of sheep imports into Ontario. That is perhaps something America and Canada can agree on.