On Wednesday, August 12, SACE hosted its “Agrivoltaics Policy Landscape” webinar, the second in our series exploring the practice of combining agriculture and solar energy production on the same land. Join us to dive into the current landscape of both state and federal agrivoltaics policy and the important role policymakers play in its advancement.
We were joined by webinar speakers Jim Johnson, Director of Rural Development and Agribusiness and Senior Business Consultant for the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers (SC SBDC) at the University of South Carolina, Turner Jackson, Renewable Energy Program Coordinator at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, Carynton Howard, SACE’s Climate Advocacy Coordinator, and Dr. Stephen A. Smith, SACE’s Executive Director, who shared the following:
- An overview of the agrivoltaics policy landscape in the U.S. and the Southeast
- A status update on the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which helps agricultural producers and rural businesses pay for renewable energy systems
- How agricultural producers and rural businesses can access state and federal funding programs
- A deep dive into the Massachusetts SMART program and the state’s agrivoltaics incentives
- How solutions like agrivoltaics are critical to SACE’s focus and the clean energy transition
Resources
- Webinar Recording (Due to technical difficulties, the brief introduction of our webinar – including the agenda and signs of the climate crisis in the Southeast – was not recorded.)
- Webinar Slides
- Corresponding article: The Southeast’s Untapped Potential: Agrivoltaics, Policy, and the Path Forward
- Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program Resources:
- National Laboratory of the Rockies InSPIRE Agrivoltaics Map
- American Farmland Trust Smart Solar℠ Policy Recommendations
- SACE’s Agrivoltaics Article Series:
- SACE’s “Agrivoltaics 101” Intro Webinar (March 12, 2026)
