The public is invited to attend a community meeting Feb. 7 to discuss the future of agrivoltaics in New Mexico. The meeting is hosted by New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the NMSU Agricultural Experiment Station.
The NMSU-hosted community meeting will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at the USDA-ARS Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, 300 College Ave., in Las Cruces. The meeting will discuss the unique opportunities agrivoltaics provides to enhance resource efficiency and land management, as well as the opportunities in New Mexico for agrivoltaics to thrive.
Presenters include Byron Kominek of Jack’s Solar Garden and Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center; Kenneth Armijo of Sandia National Labs; Greg Barron-Gafford of the University of Arizona; Lara Prihodko of NMSU; and Derek Whitelock of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service. NMSU College of ACES Dean Rolando Flores Galarza will welcome attendees.
Agrivoltaics involves the co-location of solar and agriculture on the same land. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, agrivoltaics is agriculture production, such as crop or livestock production or pollinator habitats, underneath or adjacent to solar panels.
“Agrivoltaics is the integration of solar panels with crop or livestock production. The process holds the promise of enhancing crop production efficiency by alleviating plant heat stress and improving water use efficiency,” said Israel Joukhadar, a senior research scientist in the NMSU College of ACES. “Additionally, it opens up new revenue streams through electricity generation for farmers and ranchers.”
In the U.S., there are 314 agrivoltaic projects, most of which are focused on grazing and pollinator habitats, representing more than 2.8 gigawatts of solar capacity.
People with disabilities who are in need of an auxiliary aid or service to participate may contact Tina Wayt at 575-646-1715 or mtina@nmsu.edu. For more information about the meeting, contact Joukhadar at icalsoya@nmsu.edu.
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PHOTO CAPTION: New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences will host a community meeting Feb. 7 to discuss the future of agrivoltaics in New Mexico. Agrivoltaics involves the co-location of agriculture and solar on the same land. (Courtesy photo)
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A solar panel next to a field of crops.