Using Solar Panels to Enhance Groundwater
Generating Agroecosystems Solutions
Generating Agroecosystems Solutions
Dr. Sam Zipper
University of Kansas
Year Awarded 2023
FFAR award amount $881,526
Total award amount $1,763,053
Location Lawrence, KS
Program Seeding Solutions
Matching Funders University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.
Saving a Depleting Aquifer
The High Plains Aquifer spans portions of eight states and is a major source of irrigation for one of the countries’ largest agricultural regions. Due to decades of groundwater extraction, water levels have fallen dangerously low across much of the aquifer.
Some areas of the aquifer now have an estimated remaining lifespan of years to decades. In other locations, the aquifer has been depleted to the point that no irrigation is possible. This situation is a direct threat to the $3.5 billion agricultural economy that the High Plains Aquifer supports.
Researchers at the Kansas Geological Survey/University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Michigan State University are studying the potential of placing solar panel arrays outfitted with rain collection gutters on low-productivity, non-irrigated areas of farmland. These panels would collect both solar power and rainwater, providing farmers with low- to no-cost electricity for use and sale, providing an economic support for farms while also preserving groundwater for irrigation.
Our vision is that we can sidestep the growing competition for land between farms and renewable energy by focusing solar arrays in the non-irrigated corners of fields and instead use solar power to provide economic, energy and hydrological benefits to farms.
Dr. Sam Zipper
Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Benefiting Farmers & the Environment
A common irrigation practice, center pivot, which waters crops in a circle, leaves the corners, called pivot corners, with little or no irrigation. This research seeks to make use of these pivot corners by installing solar panels in these areas to generate energy and collect rainwater. The energy can be used or sold by the farmer and the rainwater can funnel into filtered basins, allowing the water to infiltrate the soil. Ultimately, this research can put currently low productivity land to beneficial use.
The researchers hypothesize that pivot-corner solar panels can provide numerous benefits, including:
- Enhancing water sustainability by collecting rainwater and enhancing aquifer recharge.
- Increasing energy resiliency by expanding renewable energy production.
- Providing economic benefits to farmers through reduced energy costs and options to sell additional electricity, as well as lower irrigation costs.
Details About This Research
Strategies for Resiliency
In collaboration with farm, energy, industry, municipal and groundwater management partners, this project is creating multifunctional farmland that produces crops, irrigation water and solar energy, providing economic diversification to enhance regional resiliency.
Objectives
- Develop and implement pivot-corner solar panels for on-farm use, addressing potential challenges and barriers while identifying incentives to adoption.
- Conduct energy and hydrological monitoring and modeling to evaluate the potential hydrologic, climate, energy and economic benefits at the farm scale.
- Evaluate the potential regional benefits for the entire Kansas portion of the High Plains Aquifer.
- Identify areas where pivot-corner solar panels are most viable based on current soil conditions and energy infrastructure.
How This Research Contributes to Our Mission
This project engages both agricultural and industry stakeholders to unlock a new farm economic engine for rural communities—solar energy for farmers to sell—that also helps sustain groundwater resources, providing resiliency for the agricultural industry.
Matching Funders
University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc., Kansas State University, Michigan State University, Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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The Latest
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News
The latest news and updates from FFAR.
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