Washington state has ambitious renewable energy goals. But as we transition away from fossil fuels, energy demand will increase as we electrify our lives and as energy-intensive industries proliferate.  

This complicates our state’s path to decarbonization.

As part of the transition, solar energy in Washington could cover tens of thousands — possibly hundreds of thousands — of acres in the coming years.

Where all those solar panels go is a serious question.

Rooftop solar is great. However, the most ambitious estimates show that, at best, it would meet less than 30% of the state’s energy needs.

Farmland is a prime target for solar developers because the land is typically flat, already cleared, relatively accessible and sunny.

But the prospect of farmland conversion to solar energy has created tensions in rural communities and led to roadblocks on agricultural solar arrays.

Rather than converting farmland to solar facilities, we could build solar arrays and continue growing crops and raising livestock beneath the gentle shade of the panels. This approach is called “agrivoltaics,” and it could be one way to ease competition between the agriculture and solar energy sectors.

Solar arrays cast a shadow but don’t fully shade the land beneath.

This means some crops and smaller livestock can be grown and raised underneath and between the panels. And if you raise the panels a few feet higher, beneath them you can grow taller crops, trellised fruit trees, or graze cattle.

Even better, the partial shade from the solar panels can reduce sunburn and heat stress for fruits and vegetables and improve animal welfare. The shading can also reduce irrigation needs.

Solar panels and support posts can be used to replace some farm infrastructure as well, like trellising and shade cloth.

Through a collaboration between American Farmland Trust, Washington State University, The Nature Conservancy, and colleagues at University of California, Santa Barbara, we recently published a report on the feasibility of agrivoltaics in Washington for the state Department of Commerce. The research was funded by Climate Commitment Act revenue.

Our work included cutting-edge modeling to assess the joint production of solar energy and crop yield and quality at the field scale for apples, lettuce and berries. And we surveyed more than 100 farmers statewide to learn about their perspectives on solar energy, including agrivoltaics.

Our discoveries show incredible potential for the future of clean energy in Washington.

Farmers surveyed were substantially more supportive of agrivoltaics than converting farmland to solar arrays without maintaining agricultural production.

Fifty-five percent of the farmers surveyed were more interested in marrying solar and agricultural land when they learned about the idea of agrivoltaics and 57% of the farmers surveyed were moderately or very interested in hosting an agrivoltaics system on their lands.

Washington residents deeply value protecting both agricultural and natural lands. They also value rapidly transitioning to renewable energy sources.

In 2025, the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 5445 to encourage a diversity of distributed energy systems, including agrivoltaics.

This is a great start, and we need more. Farmers and ranchers, solar developers, scientists and policymakers can build on this momentum to support Washington’s agricultural communities, protect our lands and build the renewable energy future we need without losing valuable agriculture and natural lands.

Addie Candib is the Pacific Northwest regional director for American Farmland Trust and lives in Bellingham. 

Chad Kruger is Washington State University’s assistant director for agriculture, extension, and outreach at the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures and lives in Wenatchee.

Max Lambert is the director of science for The Nature Conservancy’s Washington state chapter and lives in Olympia. 

This column is republished from the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics.