Your agrivoltaics hub
Through the SCAPES project’s research, resources, and expertise, we’re taking agrivoltaics beyond the field. We can help farmers determine how their land can benefit. We can provide insights to solar energy companies. We can advise policymakers, mentor new researchers, and partner with investors. And we can team up with local organizations for exciting activities and events for the whole community.
The SCAPES Extension Team…
…will use our experience and expertise to engage stakeholders. Together, we will gain a shared understanding of the benefits, costs, challenges, interest, and concerns with installing agrivoltaic systems on farms, along with the information needed to advance agrivoltaic adoption in areas where it is beneficial.
We are recruiting and meeting with stakeholder working groups in Illinois, Colorado, and Arizona. These stakeholder working groups will actively advise SCAPES research, technology development, educational programs, and extension engagement. These producers and industry representatives will help us fine-tune every step of the program.
Solar Industry StakeholdersBeyond our stakeholder working groups…
…we will extend our reach to focus groups to get more input from a wider range of folks. In doing so, we will promote a wider shared understanding of the costs and benefits of agrivoltaics to farmers and provide them with SCAPES results and decision-making tools.
In addition, the SCAPES Extension Team will foster public engagement with agrivoltaics. We utilize our demonstration sites to showcase agrivoltaic systems, and we will also provide agrivoltaic demonstration and education at major state, regional, and national agricultural events.
As the team learns more about the implementation of agrivoltaics, we will disseminate information to the community through a variety of channels, such as the SCAPES website, social media, farmdoc, fact sheets, decision support tools, a SCAPES app, and workshops.
Extension Team
Andrea Gerlak
Professor of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona
Ron Meyer
Extension Agronomist, Colorado State University
Iris Caldwell
Sustainable Landscapes Program Manager, University of Illinois Chicago
Dennis Bowman
Extension Digital Agriculture Specialist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign