‘Nobody … was talking about it’
A recent study shows that there is a surprisingly big winner from placing solar panels on crops: farmworkers.
Talitha Neesham-McTiernan, a researcher at the University of Arizona, revealed in a press release how shade and support structures from solar panels benefit workers.
Much of the attention and research around agrivoltaics examines its effects on crops, grazing animals and farmers’ financial prospects. Neesham-McTiernan, however, discovered something entirely different in her work. Workers and researchers intentionally used the shade of solar panels to beat the heat.
“It just seemed like something that people in these systems were doing, but no one in the research field was talking about it,” she said.
This idea sparked a collaboration with Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado, where interviews with farmworkers revealed significant advantages over traditional farms.
Agrivoltaics create coveted shaded areas for agricultural workers. This is crucial considering they are 35 times more likely to suffer from deadly heat-related illnesses than non-agricultural workers.
Scientific data has confirmed the instinct of workers in the shadows. The solar panels reduced the temperature of the wet globe, a heat measurement system, by up to 10 degrees. Workers have also found other ways to take advantage of the panels. The shaded area was a great place to keep their water cool, and the beams were a nice place to lean on for a break.
Research showed that the panels helped workers save energy, avoid direct sunlight, relax mentally and physically, and recover better for the next day. These findings only add to the appeal of agrivoltaics.
As Neesham-McTiernan alluded to, agrivoltaics has well-known benefits for farmland. These include reducing crop damage from the sun and maintaining cooler irrigation water.
There are also selling points for farmers, including passive income and efficient use of their farmland. Helping workers as temperatures reach record highs could be another win-win measure for farmers.
To learn more on this front, Neesham-McTiernan plans to expand her research to other regions and hopes the results can inform policymakers about the human and environmental benefits of agrivoltaics.
Neesham-McTiernan stressed the importance of protecting farm workers.
“With the threat of heat, we need a catalog of ways to protect agricultural workers,” she concluded. “Protecting them and their bodies should be paramount for everyone.”
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