Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1778 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a study and research and demonstration on agrivoltaic systems. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 31 (legislative day, MAY 30), 2023 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a study and research and demonstration on agrivoltaic systems. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agrivoltaics Research 4 and Demonstration Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEMS. 6 (a) DEFINITION OF AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEM.—In this 7 section, the term ‘‘agrivoltaic system’’ means a system 8 under which solar energy production and agricultural pro- 9 duction, including crop or animal production, occurs in an 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1778 IS integrated manner on the same piece of land through the 1 duration of a project. 2 (b) STUDY.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 4 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in 5 coordination with the Secretary of Energy and rel- 6 evant experts, shall conduct a study on agrivoltaic 7 systems that shall include— 8 (A) a review of the current research and 9 gaps in research relating to the regional com- 10 patibility of different species of livestock with 11 different agrivoltaic panel and agrivoltaic sys- 12 tem designs, including— 13 (i) the optimal height of and distance 14 between solar panels for— 15 (I) livestock grazing; and 16 (II) shade for livestock; 17 (ii) manure management consider- 18 ations; 19 (iii) fencing requirements; 20 (iv) other animal handling consider- 21 ations; and 22 (v) the incorporation of apiculture; 23 (B) an assessment of animal breeding re- 24 search needs with respect to beneficial and com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1778 IS patible characteristics and behaviors of different 1 species of grazing animals in agrivoltaic sys- 2 tems; 3 (C) a review of the current research and 4 gaps in research relating to the regional com- 5 patibility of different crop types with different 6 agrivoltaic system designs, including— 7 (i) the optimal height of and distance 8 between solar panels for— 9 (I) plant shading; and 10 (II) farm equipment use; 11 (ii) the impact on crop yield; 12 (iii) the impact on soil moisture and 13 water availability; and 14 (iv) market opportunities to sell crops 15 at a premium price; 16 (D) an assessment of plant breeding re- 17 search needs with respect to beneficial and com- 18 patible characteristics of different crops, includ- 19 ing specialty and perennial crops, in agrivoltaic 20 systems; 21 (E) a risk-benefit analysis of agrivoltaic 22 systems in different regions of the United 23 States, including a comparison between the 24 total greenhouse gas impact of agrivoltaic sys- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1778 IS tems and solar energy systems that displace ag- 1 ricultural production; 2 (F) an assessment of the economic 3 scalability of agrivoltaic systems across dif- 4 ferent agricultural land types, production sys- 5 tems, and regional markets; 6 (G) an assessment of the types of agricul- 7 tural land best suited and worst suited for 8 agrivoltaic systems; 9 (H) an assessment of how to best develop 10 agrivoltaic systems on a national and local scale 11 consistent with— 12 (i) maintaining or increasing agricul- 13 tural production; 14 (ii) increasing agricultural resilience; 15 (iii) retaining prime farmland; 16 (iv) increasing economic opportunities 17 in farming and rural communities; 18 (v) reducing nonfarmer ownership of 19 farmland; and 20 (vi) enhancing biodiversity; 21 (I) an assessment of the unique risk man- 22 agement and crop insurance needs of agrivoltaic 23 systems; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1778 IS (J) an assessment of how Federal procure- 1 ment of agricultural products could help build 2 a market for agricultural products from farms 3 with agrivoltaic systems; and 4 (K) an assessment of appropriate modifica- 5 tions to better incorporate agrivoltaic systems 6 into existing Federal— 7 (i) agricultural conservation pro- 8 grams; 9 (ii) agricultural risk management pro- 10 grams, including Federal crop insurance; 11 (iii) renewable energy programs; 12 (iv) agricultural procurement pro- 13 grams; and 14 (v) investment tax credits. 15 (2) 5-YEAR PLAN.—Based on the study under 16 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall develop a 5-year 17 plan for using the research, extension, outreach, con- 18 servation, and renewable energy activities of the De- 19 partment of Agriculture to better support agrivoltaic 20 systems that do not displace agricultural production. 21 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 23 submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the 24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1778 IS riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a 1 report containing the results of the study conducted 2 under paragraph (1). 3 (4) REGULATORY DEFINITION.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the study 5 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, in con- 6 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and 7 farm and conservation groups, shall develop a 8 definition of the term ‘‘agrivoltaic system’’ for 9 purposes of the incorporation of agrivoltaic sys- 10 tems into Federal— 11 (i) agricultural conservation pro- 12 grams; 13 (ii) agricultural risk management pro- 14 grams, including Federal crop insurance; 15 (iii) renewable energy programs; 16 (iv) agricultural procurement pro- 17 grams; and 18 (v) investment tax credits. 19 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the 20 definition of ‘‘agrivoltaic system’’ under sub- 21 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall consider— 22 (i) using or modifying the definition 23 described in subsection (a); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1778 IS (ii) regional needs and variations in 1 climate, soils, costs, existing infrastructure, 2 and market access for agrivoltaic system 3 products; 4 (iii) existing State and local 5 agrivoltaic system policies and definitions; 6 and 7 (iv) such other factors as the Sec- 8 retary determines to be appropriate. 9 (c) AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEM RESEARCH AND DEM- 10 ONSTRATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 12 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Re- 13 search Service and in coordination with the Director 14 of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture 15 and the relevant research programs of the Depart- 16 ment of Energy, shall establish and maintain a net- 17 work of research and demonstration sites operated 18 by the Agricultural Research Service to investigate 19 and demonstrate agrivoltaic systems in multiple re- 20 gions of the United States, including arid, semi-arid, 21 and wet agricultural zones, that— 22 (A) increase agricultural productivity and 23 profitability; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1778 IS (B) enhance agricultural resilience and the 1 capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate 2 change; 3 (C) protect biodiversity; and 4 (D) increase economic opportunities in 5 farming and rural communities. 6 (2) COLLABORATION.—In establishing and 7 maintaining the network described in paragraph (1), 8 the Secretary shall collaborate with USDA Climate 9 Hubs and extension programs to share research 10 findings and translate research findings into edu- 11 cational, outreach, and technical assistance materials 12 for agricultural producers. 13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 15 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Jun 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1778.IS S1778 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB