On November 5, 2025, the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced over $7 million in funding for agrivoltaics projects, with co-located solar and agricultural operations. NYSERDA convenes farmers, developers, and research partners through the New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group, to responsibly steer statewide efforts in advancing solar energy development while protecting productive farmland. This grant program, funded by proceeds from the state’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, has been designed to demonstrate the feasibility of enhancing crop production, animal grazing, and soil management with specially designed solar arrays.
Separated into two funding pathways, NYSERDA’s Environmental Research Program awarded $2 million to four projects to build solar panels to support cattle grazing and corn production, incorporate agrivoltaics into microgrid designs, and preserve soil and farmland pasture in the solar development process. The Program separately provided a $5 million grant to Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to support multiple agrivoltaics project sites for longitudinal studies on co-located crop yields and growth rates. The full list of awarded projects can be found here.