Farmers should have the right to power their farms with the sun, and profit from it.
Across rural America, farmers are ready to put solar to work, but outdated interconnection rules, restrictive laws and contracts, and a maze of tax credits and incentives too often stand in their way. SolarWAVE Action researches these barriers and develops policy solutions to help farmers overcome them.
Our education and research work examines the laws, regulations, and contracts that determine whether farmers can install, connect, and profit from solar on their own land, including dual-use systems like agrivoltaics that let farms produce both food and clean energy. We translate that research into policy recommendations, model legislative language, and educational resources for farmers, policymakers, and advocates.
Where our research and policy development is focused right now:
In California, we're studying how to accelerate protections for farmers who want to go solar, including analyzing Williamson Act contract restrictions that can complicate or block solar development on land enrolled in agricultural preserve programs, and developing policy recommendations to address them. We're also researching third-party ownership and financing models that could let farmers add solar without upfront capital costs, and examining tax policy options that would create more favorable treatment for on-site, compatible-use solar, particularly systems sited on existing farm structures like barns, packing sheds, and other facilities rather than new construction.
Through this research and education, we aim to help policymakers and farm communities better understand the barriers that keep farmers from accessing solar, the grid, and the financing and incentives designed to support them.
The result we're working toward: lower energy costs. Stronger farms. Greater resilience. More independence.
The sun shines on every farm. Our research and policy work is aimed at helping farmers put it to work.
Solar energy belongs to the people who work the land it falls on. SolarWAVE Action's education, research, and policy development work is aimed at helping the law reflect that.
Solar energy belongs to the people who work the land it falls on. SolarWAVE Action is fighting to make sure the law agrees.
Support our advocacy for farmers' right to solar — or get in touch to learn how your organization can partner with us.
This is a 501(c)(4) advocacy initiative. Contributions are not tax-deductible as charitable donations.