Agrivoltaics could power AI data centers while raising crop yields, study finds
A study in Next Research finds agrivoltaics could meet US AI data center power demand on under 0.5% of farmland, and often lift crop yields.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
Agrivoltaics, the practice of generating solar power and growing crops on the same land, could supply the electricity that artificial-intelligence data centers need while using a small fraction of farmland, according to a study in the journal “Next Research.” The authors, Uzair Jamil and Joshua Pearce of Western University in Ontario, Canada, modeled US states with the largest data centers and found that single-axis solar trackers placed on farmland could meet that demand using between 0.001% and 0.548% of farmland in the states they examined. The authors set out the findings for a general audience in The Conversation in June 2026.
Their argument joins two trends that are usually framed as a conflict: the rising electricity appetite of AI and the pressure on farmland. Global electricity demand from data centers is on course to double by 2030, the authors note, citing the International Energy Agency. Rather than choosing between food and power, they argue, the same fields can deliver both.
How agrivoltaics could power AI data centers
The study compared two designs that keep most sunlight reaching the crops: vertical panels arranged like fences between rows, and single-axis trackers that turn with the sun and can be parked upright while machinery passes. Writing in The Conversation, the authors report that single-axis trackers could meet the modeled data-center demand on 0.001% to 0.548% of farmland, while vertical systems would need 0.003% to 2% across the targeted states. They write that “America’s AI energy crisis could be averted” by placing single-axis trackers on at most 0.5% of land in less agriculturally rich states.
The same approach scales beyond AI. In Canada, the authors estimate, agrivoltaics could generate enough electricity to remove fossil fuels from the grid entirely using less than 1% of the country’s agricultural land, covering all electricity demand and not only data centers. The global agrivoltaics market, they add, has already passed $14 billion.
What it does to crops
The case rests on a second claim: that partial shade from panels can help, not hurt, many crops, especially in heat. The authors point to their own field results in Ontario, where strawberry yield rose 18% in a normal year. In a hot summer, they report, lettuce grown under panels gained more than 400% in fresh weight against unshaded control plants, and more than 200% against the national average yield. The table below gathers the figures the authors cite.
| Measure | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farmland for single-axis trackers | 0.001% to 0.548% | To meet modeled US data-center demand |
| Farmland for vertical panels | 0.003% to 2% | Across the targeted US states |
| US land to avert “AI energy crisis” | at most 0.5% | Single-axis trackers, less agriculturally rich states |
| Canada, all electricity | under 1% of farmland | Enough to remove fossil fuels from the grid |
| Strawberry yield, Ontario | +18% | Normal year |
| Lettuce fresh weight | +400% vs control | Hot summer; +200% vs national average |
| Global agrivoltaics market | over $14 billion | Current size |
Figures reported by the authors in “Next Research” and The Conversation (2026).
The shade benefit is conditional. The authors stress that the effect “depends on the weather,” so the largest gains came in an unusually hot season rather than under normal conditions. They also note regulatory obstacles: in Ontario, rules effectively block new crop-based agrivoltaic projects, leaving sheep grazing around panels as the main approved use. Pearce discloses that he is a founding member of Agrivoltaics Canada.
Why the energy question matters
Data centers already draw heavily on power grids, a load that AI is pushing higher. Winss Solutions has examined the strain that computing places on energy systems in Sustainable IT and its underused potential, and has weighed the wider debate over whether renewable energy is unreliable because of intermittency. Agrivoltaics speaks to both: it adds solar capacity without taking land out of production, and it pairs generation with a productive second use of the same ground. The study frames that pairing as a way to add power near demand while keeping farms farming.
Agrivoltaics dates to proposals in the early 1980s to mount panels high enough for crops to grow beneath them, and the idea has since spread across Europe, Asia and North America in forms ranging from grazed solar pasture to greenhouse-top arrays. Most research has focused on the farm-level trade-off between shade and yield. The “Next Research” study extends that question to grid scale by asking how much land a country would need to convert to dual use to cover a specific, fast-growing load. For context on where clean power is heading, Winss Solutions has tracked the future of green energy. By tying agrivoltaics to AI’s electricity demand, the authors recast a farming technique as a possible answer to one of computing’s hardest sustainability problems.
Sources: Next Research (Jamil and Pearce, Western University); The Conversation; TechXplore
Featured image: photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels (free Pexels license).
Become a Sponsor
Our website is the heart of the mission of WINSS – it’s where we share updates, publish research, highlight community impact, and connect with supporters around the world. To keep this essential platform running, updated, and accessible, we rely on the generosity of you, who believe in our work.
We offer the option to sponsor monthly, or just once choosing the amount of your choice. If you run a company, please contact us via info@winssolutions.org.
I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
