Solar panels over farmland can cool crops and reduce heat stress for workers

On a hot day, shade can make a significant difference for those working in the field. And, according to new research, it could also help the plants growing under solar panels.

This is one of the possibilities offered by agrivoltaics, a system that allows for food cultivation and electricity generation on the same land.

Until now, one of its main advantages was better space utilization. However, researchers wanted to know what other effects placing panels over crops might have.

To find out, they used a computational model that simulated a tomato plantation in New Jersey. The results suggest that plants could stay cooler, lose less water, and provide better working conditions for those in the field.

How solar panels could protect crops from heat

Researchers developed a model to study what happens when solar panels share space with crops. They took into account temperature, humidity, wind, and soil conditions, among other factors.

First, they compared the model with actual measurements taken in California and Minnesota. Then, they applied it to a hypothetical tomato plantation during a hot and humid day in Princeton, New Jersey.

The calculations showed that shade could reduce leaf temperature by an average of 3.3 °F during the day.

The difference would be much greater in the afternoon, when the heat is more intense: leaves could be up to 13.6 °F cooler.

According to the model, transpiration would decrease by 22.4%. This is the process by which plants release water vapor through their leaves.

On hot days, losing less water could help plants better withstand high temperatures, especially when they need to replenish the moisture they are losing.

What benefits could workers and solar panels have

Workers in the field could also benefit from that shade.

Spending hours sowing, tending to plants, or harvesting fruits under the sun can be particularly challenging during a heat wave.

In the simulation, researchers calculated that workers could experience temperatures approximately 8 °F lower while performing their tasks under the panels.

This does not mean that heat ceases to be a risk, but it does mean that some workdays could be more manageable.

The panels themselves could also stand to gain.

When they overheat, they lose some of their efficiency. This is where plants can help.

By releasing water vapor, vegetation cools the surrounding environment. According to the calculations, panels installed over crops would be approximately 10 °F cooler than those installed over bare soil.

This difference would allow for the recovery of around 15% of the efficiency losses caused by heat.

In this way, the panels provide shade to the crops, and the plants help keep the panels cooler.

However, there is one factor that must also be considered: less sunlight reaches the ground beneath the panels.

In the simulation, the tomatoes received 47% less light, and their net carbon uptake decreased by 31%. The lower temperatures helped offset part of this loss, though not entirely.

Therefore, cooler plants do not necessarily mean higher fruit yields.

Can agrivoltaics also improve crop yields?

That is the question that remains to be answered.

The results show that tomatoes could lose less water and suffer less heat. But to determine whether this translates into a better harvest, the plants would need to be monitored throughout an entire growing season.

Measuring leaf temperature is not enough. How much the plants grow and how many fruits they produce also matter.

Moreover, not all crops require the same amount of sunlight. Some can grow well with some shade, while others could be harmed if they receive too little light.

The way the panels are installed also matters. Their height and the spacing between them change the amount of light that reaches the plants.

What the model does make clear is that solar panels could do more than generate electricity on agricultural land. Their shade would help reduce the heat experienced by crops and workers, while the vegetation would contribute to cooling the panels themselves.

You can review the full study at: Hosseini, E., Katul, G. G., Abou Najm, M., Daccache, A., Ravi, S., Heroux, K. M., Chaboya, G., Choi, C. S., & Bou-Zeid, E. (2026). Food, energy, and health implications of agrivoltaic farms. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 18(8), e2025MS005588. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025MS005588

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