Zoning for Agrivoltaics

Local government approval of solar installations on agricultural land has been recognized as a critical step in the deployment of solar facilities. One of the objections many local residents have raised about solar projects is that they remove agricultural land from production. The use of a zoning ordinance that requires agrivoltaics could increase the number of approved solar projects to help with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This proposed grant project will review the national experience with agrivoltaics in local government zoning ordinances and will draft two model agrivoltaics zoning ordinances, one at the county scale (emphasizing use in most of the US) and one at the municipal scale with an emphasis on Pennsylvania. The impact of requiring agrivoltaics could be significant in states that have lagged in the approval and construction of ground-mounted solar projects.

This grant is made possible by the Goldsmith Research Fund, a gift from Carl H. Goldsmith (W ‘88).

Tom Daniels

Crossways Professor, City and Regional Planning

Tom Daniels is the Crossways Professor of city and regional planning at the Weitzman School. Daniels directs the concentration in Land Use and Environmental Planning.

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