Agrivoltaics could be coming to a farm near you
Solar generated electricity is on the rise across the county causing some local landowners to consider converting traditional farms to solar farms.
Agrivoltaics is a new concept that mixes solar energy production with traditional agricultural uses such as row crops or grazing.
Some Ray County landowners recently received a letter in the mail from Demeter Land Development interested in leasing their land for such development. Demeter works with energy produces to find land that meets specific criteria. The landowner must currently be on an investor-owned power grid such as Evergy, not with an electric co-op. The property must be on a three-phase system and located as close as possible to a substation. The company typically seeks 30 to 50 projects statewide and only one or two on an individual line due the limited amount of power actual distribution lines are able to carry. The typical project size is 14 to 50 acres.
“The process starts with an action agreement, said Scott Aaronson,…