New research from Colorado State University and Cornell University shows that the presence of solar panels in Colorado’s grasslands may reduce water stress, improve soil moisture levels and – particularly during dry years – increase plant growth by about 20% or more compared to open fields.
The findings were published in Environmental Research Letters this week. The paper outlines the potential benefits and challenges when photovoltaic (PV) arrays are located in grassland ecosystems. The findings are particularly relevant when considering drought in the arid west and the potential for future climate change.
While solar power systems are a key source of renewable energy, they reduce the amount of sunlight available for plant growth, which could impact these complex ecosystems in ways that reduce the wildlife they support, the carbon they store and the amount of forage they produce for livestock grazing. The work, based on four years of data from an agrivoltaics solar facility in Longmont, Colorado, represents the first effort to field test how co-locating solar and grasslands changes those dynamics.
Colorado’s semi-arid grasslands often need more water than is available through precipitation in each season. Read more at Colorado State University
Source: ENN
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