Resilient Communities Webinar Series
As solar energy development continues to grow across Illinois, agrivoltaics is being explored as a way to balance renewable energy production, diversify income streams, and conserve farmland. Agrivoltaics is a developing field exploring how to integrate solar energy production alongside agricultural production. New projects are prompting community leaders to consider the potential benefits and tradeoffs of agrivoltaics.
Explore trends and research around solar development and farmland conservation in this free webinar that covers:
How solar energy development is affecting local land use, including solar land leases, the rate of farmland conversion to solar development, and an overview of the Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement process required in Illinois that ensures land developed for solar is restored to pre-construction conditions.
American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar initiative, which brings solar developers, landowners, farmers, community organizations, and policymakers together to advance policies and programs that support renewable energy adoption while strengthening farm viability and protecting natural resources.
An analysis of the cost and benefits of row crops and solar panels from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Sustainability Colocating Agricultural and Photovoltaic Electricity Systems project.
Presenters
Andrea Wagner, sustainable energy specialist, University of Illinois Extension
Claire Shipp, Midwest policy manager, American Farmland Trust
Paul Mwebaze, visiting scholar, Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Upcoming Presentations
This webinar is the second in a three-part series addressing questions and concerns from local governments about navigating solar development.
Oct. 13: Solar Impacts on Soil Health
Oct. 27: Agrivoltaics
Nov. 10: Wildlife Interactions with Solar
About the Resilient Communities Webinar Series
Resilient Communities presentations are a result of University of Illinois Extension and Prairie Rivers Network’s collaboration to build capacity for technical assistance and education aimed to help communities navigate energy- and environment-related funding opportunities, provide guidance on community inclusion, and lead community-specific strategic planning. This outreach can help communities secure and manage resources to address legacy pollution, invest in clean energy technologies, and more. This program is offered as part of the community and economic development team’s Local Government Education series in partnership with the natural resources, environment, and energy team.
For more information about the series, contact Linda Derhak at lderhak2@illinois.edu.
