Regenerative agrivoltaics: Challenges and opportunities in Southern California’s Inland Empire region
This study examines a pilot regenerative agrivoltaics project in Southern California, integrating solar development with regenerative agriculture. It explores benefits such as improved soil health, biodiversity, climate mitigation, and farm revenue, while addressing policy, technical, economic, and social barriers to broader adoption.
Subject Tags
- Agriculture
- Climate mitigation
- Biodiversity
Abstract
“Regenerative agrivoltaics” involves the co-location of regenerative agriculture (RA) and solar development. While RA focuses on promoting environmental quality, such as soil health, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services, agrivoltaics is concerned with the efficiency of dual land-use strategies. Here we describe a novel pilot project of a regenerative agrivoltaics installation in Southern California. We also explore the potential benefits, challenges, and future research opportunities that pertain to regenerative agrivoltaics. Despite recent progress in the development of policies that could support the co-location of solar development and RA, several challenges remain, including increasing the pace and scale of adoption of this land sharing approach, policy and regulatory barriers that prevent its adoption, technical and economic uncertainties, and social and cultural factors. Benefits that could be realized through the deployment of regenerative agrivoltaics include increased land productivity, enhanced soil health and biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and economic diversification. We discuss how agrivoltaics can provide farmers with a new revenue stream, while RA practices can enhance long-term soil fertility and crop yields. We also relate how regenerative agrivoltaics presents a promising opportunity to address growing global food and energy demands. Because this innovative land use combination is so new, further research is needed to fully maximize and quantify its benefits, especially given the potential for synergies and conflicts between solar development and regenerative agriculture.
Citation
Grell, K. B., & Parker, S. S. (2026). Regenerative agrivoltaics: challenges and opportunities in Southern California’s Inland Empire region. Energy Nexus, 100661.
TNC Authors
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Sophie S. Parker
Interim Director of Conservation Science. California
The Nature Conservancy
Email: sophie_parker@tnc.org