Recent reporting on the proposed Nioka Solar and Battery Project at Glenrowan West has raised an important issue for regional Australia: how we talk about renewable energy on agricultural land. The project has been proposed by local sheep farmers Rosie and Jonathan Koop, who have said they intend to diversify farm income while continuing to run stock on the property.¹
At the Australian Renewables Academy, we believe robust debate is healthy. Communities should ask serious questions about land use, fire management, environmental protection and consultation. But those conversations need to be grounded in facts, not fear.
Agrivoltaics is the co-location of agriculture and solar energy production on the same land. It can include livestock grazing, cropping or pollinator habitat under and between solar panels.² It’s important to say that this is not a fringe idea. It is an active area of research and practice internationally, including in Australia, because it offers a practical way to produce food and clean energy from the same land.³
In the right setting, solar and farming are not mutually exclusive. Research from Agriculture Victoria found that low-growing rainfed pasture species used for sheep grazing can remain productive within solar farms, with pasture growth largely unaffected in the wider spaces between panel rows.⁴ The same work also found that solar panels can provide shelter from wind, reducing the risk of cold stress for lambs in some conditions.⁵
There is also strong practical evidence that sheep grazing can work well with solar infrastructure. Sheep can help manage vegetation beneath and around panels, reducing the need for mechanical mowing and supporting site maintenance.⁶ Recent research from commercial solar sites in the United States found that grazed solar sites had higher organic matter, predicted soil protein and active carbon than non-grazed sites, and that forage under panels had higher crude protein and better digestibility in the study period.⁷
For farmers, agrivoltaics can also support business resilience. The US Department of Energy notes that agrivoltaics can provide diversified revenue sources while keeping land available for agricultural production.⁸ That matters in regional communities where farmers are managing climate variability, commodity price swings, rising costs and succession pressures.
The benefits can extend beyond the farm gate. Well-designed renewable energy projects can contribute clean electricity to the grid, support local jobs, create lease income, and provide long-term investment in regional areas.⁹ They can also reduce land-use conflict by allowing agricultural production and energy generation to occur together, rather than forcing an unnecessary choice between the two.¹⁰
None of this means every project should be approved. Every proposal must be tested on its merits. Fire planning, grid connection, biodiversity, water management, neighbour impacts and community benefit all need proper scrutiny. But it is simply not accurate to suggest that solar development automatically destroys agricultural land. In many cases, it can help keep farms viable.
Australia has always relied on practical innovation in agriculture. Agrivoltaics is another example of that tradition: using land more intelligently, supporting farmers with new income, and producing clean energy that benefits local communities.
The Australian Renewables Academy encourages all stakeholders to keep the debate respectful, evidence-based and focused on practical outcomes.
Regional communities deserve clear facts, not slogans.
References
- RenewEconomy, reporting on the Nioka Solar and Battery Project and the Koop family’s proposal to continue stock operations while diversifying farm income. [reneweconomy.com.au]
- United States Department of Energy, definition of agrivoltaics as co-locating solar systems with crops, livestock or pollinator habitat. [energy.gov]
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, overview of agrivoltaics as pairing solar with agriculture, including crops, grazing and native habitats. [nlr.gov]
- Agriculture Victoria / Energy Smart Farming, pasture trial findings in northern Victorian solar farms. [extensionaus.com.au]
- Agriculture Victoria / Energy Smart Farming, findings on wind shelter and reduced lamb cold-stress risk. [extensionaus.com.au]
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, solar grazing described as an agrivoltaic approach to vegetation management; Farm Progress, sheep used to manage solar-farm vegetation and reduce mowing needs. [frontiersin.org], [farmprogress.com]
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2025 study comparing grazed and non-grazed commercial solar sites. [frontiersin.org]
- United States Department of Energy, agrivoltaics research findings on diversified revenue, ecological advantages and reduced land-use competition. [energy.gov]
- United States Department of Energy, research focus on effects for farmer revenue, rural communities and solar deployment; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, economic and ecological benefits of agrivoltaics. [energy.gov], [nlr.gov]
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory and United States Department of Energy, agrivoltaics as a way to balance food production, renewable energy goals and land-use competition. [nlr.gov], [energy.gov]