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.
array(1) {
["latest"]=>
array(3) {
["tax"]=>
array(4) {
[0]=>
string(1) "6"
[1]=>
string(3) "141"
[2]=>
string(3) "200"
[3]=>
string(3) "206"
}
["research"]=>
array(3) {
["title"]=>
string(0) ""
["image"]=>
bool(false)
["promo_text"]=>
string(37) "Read the latest project breakthroughs"
}
["latest"]=>
array(3) {
["title"]=>
string(10) "The Latest"
["sections_show"]=>
array(4) {
[0]=>
string(8) "insights"
[1]=>
string(4) "news"
[2]=>
string(6) "events"
[3]=>
string(13) "breakthroughs"
}
["additional_past_events"]=>
string(0) ""
}
}
}
The Latest
Insights
Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.
See all Insights
Using Artificial Intelligence to Calculate GHGs at the Individual Farm Level
Dr. Kaiyu Guan
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Data for Dairy: Research to Guide Farmers in Their Sustainability Journey
Reza Afshar
Vice President, Soil, Feed and Water Research at Dairy Management Inc.
Advancing Ecosystem Service Markets for Sustainable Farming
A Place for Everyone in Agriculture
Dr. LaKisha Odom & Jocelyn Hittle
Finding a New Way to Control Weeds in Cotton.
Sarah Chu
FFAR Fellow, Texas A&M University
Irrigation’s Role in Ensuring Global Food Security
Luke Reynolds
Irrigation Association
The “Good Soil Discount” — A Game Changer for U.S. Agriculture
Harley Cross
Land Core Co-founder & Director of Strategy
Global Agriculture Leaders See How Maryland Farmers Use Land-based Tools to Benefit Waterways
Ernie Shea
President, Solutions from the Land
Organic Ag Podcast Features Innovative Industry Topics
Kathleen Delate
Professor, Organic Agriculture Program, Iowa State University
Building Bridges Between Academics & Farmers
FFAR Fellow, Elizabeth Ellis
Manure – Waste or Resource?
Manny Sabbagh
University of Minnesota
Diversifying the Future of Venture Capital
The first cohort of the HBCU Kirchner Fellows are Bryana Pittman, Kwame Jackson and Martin Adu-Boahene who co-wrote this Insights piece to share the value of this fellowship and its potential impact.
What Do We Call Innovation? Looking for Common Cause in a Sea of Needs
Can Adding Carbon to the Soil Help us Manage Weeds?
Maria Gannett
2019-2022 FFAR Fellow
Gene Editing is a Real Solution for Climate Change
Nicholas Karavolias
FFAR Fellow 2020-2023
Taking Science Beyond the Bench: Critical Reflections for Change-Oriented Research
Krista Marshall
2019-2022 FFAR Fellow
Soil is Not Dirt
Aaron Prairie
2020-2023 FFAR Fellow
Farmers & Ranchers Can Help In The Climate Crisis
Dan Glickman and Bob Stallman
Fine-tuning photosynthesis
Dhruv Patel
2019-2022 FFAR Fellow
Can biochar help adapt agriculture to a hotter, dryer climate?
Shelby Hoglund
2018-2021 FFAR Fellow
News
The latest news and updates from FFAR.
See all News
FFAR Seeding Solutions Grant Evaluates the Benefits of Converting Row Crops to Perennial Forage Systems
Grant Provides Decision Support Tool for Extreme Weather Events
Grant to Preserve Groundwater and Economically Benefit Growers
FFAR & Eight Member Organizations Commit $8.45 Million to Efficient Fertilizer Consortium
Grant Developing Tomato Resistance to Parasitic Weed
Grant Develops Cotton-Based Precision Irrigation to Improve Sustainability
AgMission Grant Evaluates Successful Incentives for Persistent Cover Crop Adoption
FFAR Grant to Improve Sorghum & Strengthen Nutritional Security
FFAR & FoodShot Global Announce GroundBreaker Prize Winners in Water Research
U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef & FFAR Announce Focus Group Series to Develop Sustainable Beef Research Roadmap
AgMission & PepsiCo Grants Bolster Climate-Resilient Farms & Value Chains
AgMission™ Funds Global Youth Consultation to Co-Create Agricultural Solutions with Young Farmers
FFAR Grant Unites Urban Agriculture Operations to Increase Food Security
FFAR-Funded Research to Prevent African Swine Fever Virus
FFAR Awards Savanna Institute a Grant to Inform Agroforestry Adoption
FFAR & The Organic Center Invest $632,000 into the Future of Organic Farming
FFAR Accepting Pre-Proposals for 2024 Seeding Solutions
FFAR Grant Provides Data on Nitrogen Management Practices in the Great Plains
FFAR Grant Reduces Nitrogen Inputs, Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Grant Transforms Wastewater to Crop Fertilizer
Breakthroughs
Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.
See all Breakthroughs
New Study Shows AI & Supercomputing Can Quantify Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Individual Farms
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity
Developing an Extensive Database of US Groundwater Wells
Breakthrough for Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Management Through Innovative Governance & Optimal Agricultural Water Use Under Conflicting Objectives
Building Collaborations for Technology-Driven Solutions in Agriculture
Breakthrough for Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management (OpenTEAM)
Increased Fiber, Same Great Taste
Breakthrough for Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop
Connecting Growers & Markets
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Develops Tools to Predict Consumer Demand, Reduce Food Waste
Accelerating Crop Development with Improved Haploid Fertility
Breakthrough for Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future
Documenting Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing’s Benefits
Breakthrough for Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains
RIPE Researchers Prove Bioengineering Better Photosynthesis Increases Yields in Food Crops for the First Time
Breakthrough for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment
Research Pinpoints Why Dairy Cows Produce Less Milk in Warm Weather and Develops Nutrition-Based Solution
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures
The Irrigation Innovation Consortium & Parallel 41 Network: Building a path to data-driven management