Farmland and solar farms have long been competing for the same patch of ground in America. Arizona tried something different: raise the panels on stilts and grow food in the shade underneath. According to the research titled ‘Agrivoltaics provide mutual benefits across the food–energy–water nexus in drylands,’ from the University of Arizona, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, this set-up, known as agrivoltaics, lets one acre do two jobs at once. Researchers also found an unplanned third benefit: cooler, safer conditions for people working the land.
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