Event recap: Farmer ingenuity sparks agrivoltaic excitement in Olivia, Minn.

September 2024

Story by Imani Mosher

“Things do change.” A group of people stands in a half near a field.

That was the theme of a recent agrivoltaics event in west central Minnesota. Agrivoltaics is when farmers grow crops under or around solar panels. (Think of it as harvesting the sun twice!)

In August a group of about 25 folks (including clean energy enthusiasts, farmers, or some combination of both) gathered in the city of Olivia, Minn., to tour and learn more about the “Rauenhorst Farm Agrivoltaics Project.” The project is focused on a one-of-a-kind solar array design that’s been in the works for nearly five years. Housed on the Rauenhorst Farm in Renville County, the 36 kilowatt-hour (kWh) array stands 14 feet tall over a corn and soybean rotation field. It’s an especially exciting technological development for a farm that’s been in the Rauenhorst family for generations.

Designing the dream

The innovation and ingenuity that went into this project received a great deal of praise from the folks attending the tour. The custom racking that holds these panels was designed and handcrafted by the farm team behind the project, Rolly and Larry Rauenhorst and John Baumgartner. To make the design a reality, they reused old oil field pipes for the posts that hold up the panels. As a result, the panels are tall enough for corn to grow below it and for regular sized farming equipment to move through the field as though the panels weren't there.

What about the crops?

The tour sparked great conversation about how the panels would interact with crops growing below them, considering how shading and rainfall from the panels could impact crop yield and soil health. The farm team shared that based on their calculations to properly space the panels and limit shading on the crops, they’re confident that there will be no impact on the crop yield or quality.

To know for sure, (with a grant from the University of Minnesota Extension, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships), they’re enlisting the help of our friends at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC). The WCROC has sensors that will monitor the amount of energy coming in from the sunlight, temperature, wind speed, soil moisture, and soil temperature across the entire array. This will allow the team to track how the panels are impacting long term soil health and crop yield.

Eric Buchanan, director of renewable energy at the WCROC, shared that although corn is a sun-loving plant, it may benefit from the additional shade provided by the panels during hotter and dryer Minnesota summers. Buchanan said they plan to publish their findings and hope that the data collected from this study will offer farmers and researchers a new way to think about agrivoltaics.

A large solar panel looms over a field of green crops.

Housed on the Rauenhorst Farm, the 36 kWh array stands 14 feet tall over a corn and soybean rotation field.

Rolly and Larry Rauenhorst and John Baumgartner stand in an open field of crops. Behind them a solar panel is propped high up.

The farm team behind the project: John Baumgartner with Rolly and Larry Rauenhorst.

A solar panel is propped up over a green field of crops.

Recycled oil field pipes act as posts to hold up the panels. The design is tall enough to accommodate crops and farming equipment.

Farmer approved

The farm team agrees. When asked what they hope to accomplish with this project, they told us how they are in this for the long term. While the agrivoltaics approach is new, the team’s steady resolve isn’t. Like the farming generations before them, they’re committed to the work. With the data they collect over the years from this project, they hope to prove that there's no significant crop loss under a solar array like this. They believe this project will showcase that agrivoltaics projects have the potential to be both economically viable and have no negative impact on the crops.

The Rauenhorst Agrivoltaics project is an exciting demonstration of innovation and persistence. As Baumgartner shared with the tour group, “things do change.”

Watch the tour of the Rauenhorst Farm agrivoltaics project with TPT's Almanac!

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