About This Webinar
Farmland and solar farms usually compete for the same land. But what if one field could do both? That’s the idea behind agrivoltaics: combining solar panels with crops or grazing on the same plot, so land can grow food and generate energy at once.
As clean energy demand grows, more land is being used for solar. Meanwhile, farmers face drought, rising costs, and a need for new income. Agrivoltaics offers one answer to both. Research shows it can reduce drought stress on crops, lower heat on solar panels, improve microclimates, and give farmers a second revenue stream.
Join us for a live webinar on agrivoltaics presented by Dr. Lisa Bosman of Purdue University. She’ll cover the basics of agrivoltaic systems, their benefits, and the real-world barriers to wider adoption, from policy gaps to a lack of decision-making tools.
Dr. Bosman will also share her own research, including a solar valuation tool, predictive maintenance work, supply and demand forecasting, and an agrivoltaic decision support system that helps farmers weigh the costs and benefits of adding solar to their land.
What participants can expect to learn about agrivoltaics
- What agrivoltaics is and how it works
- The environmental and economic benefits of combining solar and farming
- Key challenges to wider adoption
- How decision support tools help evaluate agrivoltaic projects
This webinar is a great fit for engineers, agricultural professionals, practitioners of sustainable development, students, policymakers, and anyone curious about pairing clean energy with food production.
Learn More: Agrivoltaics Harvest the Sun Twice
About the Presenter
Dr. Lisa Bosman, Phd in Industrial Engineering, is an Associate Professor in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute at Purdue University. Her doctoral dissertation examined solar energy performance modeling, providing a foundation for her ongoing work at the intersection of renewable energy, sustainability, and engineering education.
Dr. Bosman has served as Principal Investigator for an NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site focused on applied energy and entrepreneurial-minded research. Her work explores how innovative energy technologies, including agrivoltaics, can support sustainable and resilient communities.
Photo by AgriSolar Clearinghouse / CC BY 2.0.
