Research Sites

In spring 2025, an 88 kW agrivoltaic research array was installed at the University of Illinois Energy Farm by Verde Solutions, LLC. The system features 152 bifacial panels mounted on single-axis tracking structures, designed to optimize solar performance while enabling productive agricultural use of the land beneath.

This site is currently supporting both row crops and forage systems, including:

• Sorghum and soybeans (soy as a C3 comparison to corn-like C4 metabolism)
• Switchgrass and orchardgrass – selected as model forage crops well-suited for growth under central Illinois conditions
• Winter wheat (to be planted later this year)

Live cropping occurs directly under and between the solar panel rows, allowing researchers to assess light distribution, microclimate effects, crop growth, and energy yield in tandem. This array is one of three replicated research sites within the SCAPES project, with parallel systems located in Colorado and Arizona.

Live system performance:
👉 View Production Dashboard

Production from this new 54-acre 12.32 MW solar farm is estimated to be 20,000 megawatt hours per year for use by the University of Illinois, and in combination with Solar Farm 1.0 will make the University of Illinois the country’s third largest user of renewable power generated on-site for higher education facilities. Solar Farm 2.0 is available to the SCAPES research team and will be used to characterize the growing environment under solar panel shade, and generate data on crop tolerance to shade and the microclimate under solar panels.

👉 Energy Production Dashboard

Arevon Energy, Inc., currently manages Solar Farm 2.0, and is on our Stakeholder Working Group. 

The Energy Farm brought new life to a 15 kW solar array that was originally installed on the Building Research Council building, which has since been demolished. The panels were relocated and reinstalled as three small agrivoltaic arrays, now serving as a research site at the Energy Farm.

The mounting structures were generously donated by MT Solar, and were assembled on-site by the SCAPES team as part of a collaborative project to repurpose and expand the university’s agrivoltaic research capacity.

A live dashboard displays real-time energy data from the array, supporting ongoing educational and experimental efforts in solar-agriculture systems.

These arrays were used in 2023 to test row cropping, but beginning with the 2024 season, they have been used to successfully grow consumer crops such as kale, carrots, beets, and peppers. In 2025, the research has expanded to include tomatoes alongside kale, carrots, and beets.