Description:
The Michigan Legislature passed a law in 2023 requiring Michigan’s energy providers to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040. Beyond the climate benefits, solar energy is increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels.
“State officials estimate it may take 209,000 acres worth of renewable energy to achieve clean energy goals. That’s half a percent of Michigan's land mass, and about a third of the acreage Michigan currently uses to grow corn for ethanol-based gasoline. But it’s still more than twice the size of the city of Detroit. And neighbors often object to putting solar farms on open land for fear it will spoil the view, affect property values, destroy cropland and wildlife habitat or hinder outdoor recreation.” Bridge article
There are various co-location (dual- or multi-use) approaches to siting, designing, constructing, and managing solar PV to reduce negative impacts of solar land use and enhance a wide range of ecological and anthropogenic services. Agrivoltaic and ecovoltaic co-location involve the direct integration of solar and agriculture (agrivoltaic) and/or more broadly ecosystem services (ecovoltaic) within the boundaries of solar infrastructure. Agrisolar PV is a broader umbrella concept and can include a variety of ground cover management approaches within the array bounds including both agrivoltaics and ecovoltaics, and places more emphasis on holistic farm-integration rather than exclusively vertical integration of solar and agricultural production. Tools are being developed to help move agrisolar PV beyond the all-too-common “farming OR solar”, or “food vs fuel” framing to a “farming AND solar” decision-making environment.
Speaker:
M. Charles Gould, MSU Extension Bioenergy Educator
Charles Gould provides relevant expertise in the areas of renewable energy and energy conservation to Michigan farmers and agribusinesses that help them be sustainable now and into the future. He has expertise in dual-use land management and conservation practices for solar projects, bioenergy crop production, small anaerobic digesters, and on-farm energy conservation measures.
Charles is the author of journal articles, bulletins, fact sheets, textbook chapters, and curriculum. He also
has numerous articles published in the popular farm press. He has over 30 years of experience bringing about changes in behavior and perceptions that result in increasing farm profitability, a cleaner environment, and greater societal benefits.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah State University in Agriculture Education and a Master of
Agricultural Extension from The University of Georgia with a focus on water quality. He has been with
Michigan State University Extension since 1995.
