Click Here to Support the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project Today!
Support the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project by adding your name and email address to the list of community members who support Silicon Ranch's dual-use agriculture and solar project in Fayette County.
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With Silicon Ranch, It’s Solar and Agriculture, Not Solar or Agriculture
Solar solutions company Silicon Ranch is planning a clean energy plus regenerative agriculture project (the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project) for Fayette County that will produce power for Central Kentucky homes using made-in-America solar panels, provide access to land and new revenue for local farming, and yield healthier soil and locally raised grass-fed meat, all on one piece of land. Learn more about Silicon Ranch, the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project, and our wholly owned agribusiness, Regenerative Energy®, that makes this possible.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council will discuss and vote on the terms of a solar zoning order text amendment (ZOTA) on August 19 that will define in what zones and under what conditions large solar projects can be developed in the county, including whether the ZOTA will allow approval of solar+agriculture projects in agricultural areas.
Projects that combine solar energy production and agriculture on one piece of land, with crops or livestock being raised underneath or between the panels, are called agrivoltaics projects. Silicon Ranch is the industry leader in grazing agrivoltaics projects through our wholly owned agribusiness, Regenerative Energy®. We own one of the largest sheep flocks in the Southeastern U.S., employ a team of shepherds, and are working to scale cattle grazing and solar energy production on the same land that is good for solar generation, good for the land, and good for the animal through our patented CattleTracker™ system.
Tell Fayette County Leaders That You Support Solar + Agriculture Today!
Need help with your comment? Here's a template to get you started:
I’m writing to support the creation of local rules that form a pathway for both rural and urban solar projects in Fayette County, to help our community flourish.
By setting local rules for the development of rural solar, we can attract projects that grow our economy through job creation and financial infusion on our terms, while also preserving our land and supporting Lexington’s 2050 net zero emissions goal.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Tell Fayette County Leaders That You Support Solar + Agriculture Today!
Need help with your comment? Here's a template to get you started:
I’m writing to support the creation of local rules that form a pathway for both rural and urban solar projects in Fayette County, to help our community flourish.
By setting local rules for the development of rural solar, we can attract projects that grow our economy through job creation and financial infusion on our terms, while also preserving our land and supporting Lexington’s 2050 net zero emissions goal.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
The Fayette Agrivoltaics Project will have economic, social, and land use impacts that will benefit Fayette County and its soils for the long-term.
Locally Produced Clean Energy Generated
70 MWac
Central Kentucky Homes that Fayette Agrivoltaics Project Can Power Annually
10,000+
Jobs Created
400+
New Tax Revenues over 40 Years to Fund Local and State Priorities
$8,000,000+
Capital Investment for Local Economic Growth
$80,000,000+
Locally Produced Clean Energy Generated
70 MWac
Central Kentucky Homes that Fayette Agrivoltaics Project Can Power Annually
10,000+
Jobs Created that Prepare a Workforce for the Growing Solar Industry
400+
New Tax Revenues over 40 Years to Fund Local and State Priorities
$8,000,000+
Capital Investment for Local Economic Growth
$80,000,000+
Bolsters American Manufacturing
The company will build the project using made-in-America solar panels, bolstering U.S. manufacturing.
Keeps Land in Regenerative Agricultural Production
Silicon Ranch will keep the land housing the project in agricultural production through our wholly owned agribusiness, Regenerative Energy®. Using regeneratively managed sheep, we will protect and improve soil health and wildlife and provide new opportunities for farmers and their families. The project will develop less than one percent of the County’s prime farmland and farmland of statewide importance outside the urban service boundary.
At the end of 40 years, in accordance with Kentucky laws and any local regulations, Silicon Ranch will re-power the project with new solar equipment or decommission it, at Silicon Ranch’s sole expense and at no cost to the community or local government. After decommissioning, the land will be available to continue agricultural production.
Meet Turkey Creek Solar Ranch
Silicon Ranch already has one operating agrivoltaics project in Kentucky, just an hour’s drive from Fayette: the clean energy-producing 50 MWac Turkey Creek Solar Ranch in Garrard County. The farmland there is in regenerative agricultural production, preserving and restoring soil health, and providing local sheep farmer Daniel Bell with a new revenue stream and a transformational opportunity to grow his small farm to a fulltime, multi-generation operation.
Read more about farmer Daniel Bell
Bell, the owner of Hazelbrook Farm, employs his flock of sheep to restore soil health and biodiversity as they graze the vegetation under and around the solar panels. The panels in return provide the sheep, which are raised on an all-grass diet, with shade and protection from the elements – rain, hail, ice, and more. His partnership with Silicon Ranch has made it possible for Bell to quadruple the size of his flock to nearly 1,500 sheep, and turn Hazelbrook Farm into a fulltime, multi-generation operation by creating a year-round shepherding job for his son Canaan, who was previously employed repairing mining machinery. The Bells sell their sheep to a local meat distributor.
Offers the Lowest-Cost Renewable Energy at Zero Cost to the Community
The Fayette Agrivoltaics Project will protect county residents and institutions from having to bear the high cost of developing rooftop solar to meet county goals. Developing enough solar rooftops to generate the amount of power that the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project will produce (70MWac) would cost the community over $200 million. The community will pay $0 for the project while realizing its significant economic, social, and soil health benefits for the long-term.
What sets Silicon Ranch apart is that we own our projects and the land they occupy. As the long-term owner and operator, we invest in communities. We partner with and support educational, agricultural, and other institutions through workforce development and career fairs, site tours, scholarships, charitable contributions, research projects, and more.
Support the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project
Add your name and email address to the list of community members who support Silicon Ranch's dual-use agriculture and solar project in Fayette County.
"*" indicates required fields
By adding your name and email address to this form, you consent to Silicon Ranch sharing your name with representatives of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and to receiving emails from Silicon Ranch about future project updates and calls to action.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project
Have questions about the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project? We’ve compiled a list of answers to common questions about the project.
We will keep the land housing the project in agricultural production through our wholly owned agribusiness, Regenerative Energy®. We partner with or employ in-house local farmers, ranchers, and land managers to regeneratively manage sheep among solar panels to protect and improve soil health and wildlife while providing the sheep with shade and protection from the elements—rain, hail, ice, and more. This offers access to land, new revenue, and increased production for local farming and yields healthier soil and locally raised grass-fed meat. Read about our Garrard County, Kentucky agrivoltaics project and how it has positively impacted the farming community there.
The project will occupy less than one percent (~0.5%) of the County’s prime farmland and farmland of statewide importance outside the urban service boundary. The total developed fenced area of the solar array is estimated at ~575 acres, based on current design layout.* There are approximately 110,000 acres of prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance outside the urban service boundary.
*Final solar array fenced acreage could vary from this estimate as a result of permitting requirements and due diligence results.
Solar rooftops and carports are approximately three times more expensive to develop than large-scale solar per Wattdc. The Fayette Agrivoltaics Project will protect county residents and institutions from having to bear the high cost of developing rooftop solar or carports to meet county goals. Developing enough solar rooftops to generate the amount of power that the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project will produce (70MWac) would cost the community over $200 million. The community will pay $0 for the project while realizing its significant economic, social, and soil health benefits for the long-term.
The Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (the Agrivoltaics ZOTA), if passed, will allow the County to approve utility-scale solar projects, including the Fayette Agrivoltaics Project, in two designated agricultural zones when certain zone-specific criteria are met. Importantly, the criteria include a requirement that the solar project incorporate agricultural production into its solar energy generation operations. As a leader in the field of agrivoltaics, Silicon Ranch supports the Agrivoltaics ZOTA.
Silicon Ranch has engaged independent state-certified property appraisers to conduct matched pair analyses to understand potential property value impacts of its projects. A matched pair analysis allows an appraiser to estimate the value of a property feature, such as neighboring a solar farm, by comparing sales of similar properties that differ only in that specific feature, in this case, not neighboring a solar farm. The matched pair analysis for its Garrard County, Kentucky project found the project had no impact on the property value of neighboring parcels.
The energy the project generates will interconnect to the PJM grid and provide enough electricity to power over 10,000 Central Kentucky homes annually.
At the end of 40 years, the project will either be repowered with new solar equipment or decommissioned. If the project is decommissioned, all system components will be removed, and the ground will be stabilized. All costs associated with the decommissioning process will be the responsibility of Silicon Ranch, not the community or local government. As Silicon Ranch will continue to own the property and will remain a member of the community, we are invested in ensuring that decommissioning will occur safely and responsibly, and that the site is in excellent condition.
In our decommissioning approach, Silicon Ranch will comply with Kentucky laws and any decommissioning requirement established by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
Our solar projects are designed with reliability and the highest performance in mind over their 40-year useful lifetimes. This 40-year view means we design the entire plant and select equipment to last at least 40 years. Unlike some developers who may focus more on meeting minimum design criteria to reduce short-term costs, Silicon Ranch places more emphasis on reliability and the requirements of long-term ownership.
We are committed to leading industry advancements in responsible management of end-of-life solar equipment. Our commitment goes beyond recycling to repurposing, reusing, and fueling domestic manufacturing of solar panels for a circular solar economy.
To process-end-of life solar modules from Silicon Ranch projects, we have partnered with two pioneers in U.S.-based solar industry panel recycling: SOLARCYCLE, which offers an advanced platform that recovers approximately 95% of the value of solar panel materials, including glass and aluminum, as well as silicon, silver, copper, and aluminum, and First Solar, which recovers approximately 90 percent of materials. Recovered module materials are returned to the solar supply chain to help fuel the growing U.S. solar manufacturing industry with a domestic supply of materials essential to the production of new solar panels. For instance, recovered aluminum from the aluminum panel frames will be used to make aluminum frames for new solar panels.
Our industry leading recycling partnerships support our commitments to advance domestic solar manufacturing, a circular solar economy that reduces material use and recaptures “waste” as a resource to manufacture new panels, and economic development opportunities in communities across the country.
The project will protect and restore soil health through the implementation of regenerative sheep grazing under and around the solar panels. We carefully manage vegetation using sheep to support and improve nature’s basic cycles of nutrients, water, and carbon.
While grazing, the animals fertilize the soil with their urine and manure and lightly break up the soil with their hooves. This increases nutrient cycling by boosting the number of soil organisms, such as fungi, earthworms, and bacteria, in soil. Soil organisms decompose plant and animal residue, and transform it into usable nutrients, allowing them to cycle through the ecosystem. This increases the amount of soil organic matter in soils over time, thereby improving soil’s ability to hold water (water holding capacity), “store” and release carbon (carbon exchange capacity), and aerate (bulk density). These are all leading indicators of soil health and ecosystem function. Healthy soils hold more water, take in more carbon, and are more fertile. We will monitor, quantify, and verify ecological outcomes of our regenerative land management practices at the project.
It depends on the project, but typically projects interconnect to existing transmission lines adjacent to the property.
No. Silicon Ranch constructs photovoltaic facilities, which absorb solar energy rather than reflect it, and therefore do not heat up.
There are companies that place solar panels on top of warehouses, commercial buildings, and residential houses, but this is not what Silicon Ranch does. The first part to consider is location – utility scale solar plants need to be near a viable transmission or distribution line to allow for connection to the grid to prevent needing long, expensive transmission lines. Additionally, consolidating the solar plant into a concentrated location allows for more efficient and effective connection to the grid.
The second part to consider is the size – large warehouses tend to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000 square feet, which is approximately 12 – 24 acres. Silicon Ranch aims to build utility scale solar plants that require larger areas to generate the amount of energy necessary. Another factor is that not all existing buildings were designed or built to hold the structural load of a solar plant on the rooftops.
While there are companies that build solar plants on landfills, Silicon Ranch does not do so because building solar plants on landfills presents permitting and construction challenges, environmental challenges, such as avoiding damage to the landfill capping system, and engineering challenges, such as potential settlement of the landfill area that can lead to structural damage to the solar generating equipment.
We aim to deliver power into the communities that the power will serve. Each community has a range of siting options available, including both rooftop and ground mounted. In addition to questions of scale and structural stability, rooftop is by far the most expensive option for the installation of solar energy. Ground-mounted solar energy is the lowest cost form of new electricity generation in the United States today, and it is an important energy source for helping to keep rates low.
This will depend on the time of day, but generally, no more than ten feet high. The panels at many of our newer sites rotate to follow the sun throughout the day. At the beginning and end of the day, the solar panels will be at their highest as they will be angled 60 degrees. Around lunchtime, the panels will be at their lowest.
The supporting structures that hold the modules are designed to withstand wind loads of 105-120 mph.
We take intentional steps in our facility design, operations, and land management to ensure that stormwater runoff from each site will be reduced or not increased from the conditions that exist when we buy the property.
Most of our projects are proposed at sites where the existing land is agricultural, wooded, or a combination of both. Once a solar plant is constructed, impervious surfaces (foundation pads, equipment, gravel roadways, etc.) cover a relatively minor amount of the land housing it. So, while solar panels will be installed on the land, the stormwater will flow off the panels and across the vegetation, allowing for the water to infiltrate and evaporate or be absorbed and replenish the aquifer. Moreover, our regenerative land management practices increase vegetative cover and build soil organic matter and looser soils, leading to more water infiltration, increased water retention, and less stormwater runoff.
The reduction in stormwater runoff peak flow improves downstream flooding issues. Existing natural resources (e.g., wetlands, ponds, streams, floodplains, etc.) and associated buffer areas are field identified, delineated, reviewed by the appropriate agencies, and marked during construction to be protected. In some circumstances, it may be necessary to temporarily or permanently impact a natural resource to facilitate a crossing location (e.g., access road-stream crossing). In these situations, we secure all necessary permits and we implement associated mitigative measures.
With 23 projects in Georgia operating, under construction, or contracted, Silicon Ranch’s solar projects in Georgia create more than 6,500 construction jobs. We maintain a strong preference for hiring locally and from the military veteran community.
Once a project is approved, our Project Delivery team will work with local partners, such as the chamber of commerce, to develop a plan to engage qualified, local firms and invite them to bid on the project.
Make sure to go to the Contact Us page and fill out the Contact form for Vendors. A project representative will get back to you with more details on available work and the timing of proposals.
There are also periodic announcements regarding job fairs for local residents interested in working on these projects.
There is some truck and trailer traffic during the construction of projects, including 18-wheelers delivering supplies during installation. Prior to and throughout construction, Silicon Ranch coordinates with the community to provide a more precise operation schedule as the construction of a specific project approaches. Once operational, our sites are remotely monitored and rarely visited except for periodic and routine maintenance. This is usually accomplished with 1-2 pick-up trucks or vans, depending on the crew.
Yes, we always prefer to hire qualified, local firms when possible.
Silicon Ranch has a systematic approach to health and safety and is committed to the goal of zero recordable safety incidents. Accordingly, the team gives every consideration to safety and control measures as part of overall project design. In addition to his 25+ years of environmental, health and safety experience, Silicon Ranch’s Director of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Security—Jim Barfield, CSP, CHST—has deep credentials to lead the company’s approach to safety. Along with qualifications that include BSCP certifications, FEMA incident command, accident investigation, and OSHA 30 qualifications, he is a veteran of the United States Army as a Health Specialist of Preventative Medicine, where he educated personnel on pathogen exposure, disease and occupational illness prevention, enforced military regulations governing sanitary practice and industrial hygiene, and investigated and controlled sources of pathogen and toxin exposure both inside and outside of United States borders.
Our projects across Georgia follow and adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations including fencing, electric codes, and signage. Additionally, our projects will be monitored 24/7 so that any disturbance to the system can be quickly and safely acted upon.
Once construction commences, external to the site, we post appropriate warnings in traffic ways to alert drivers of impending truck entrances to the roadway. Internal to the site there are controls in place to regulate vehicles and heavy equipment on site.
The materials and components that comprise a solar energy generating facility are not hazardous to humans. Silicon Ranch prioritizes protection of the environment.
There is noise associated with the construction of projects, but Silicon Ranch seeks to minimize any potential disruption by limiting construction activities to normal business hours. Once operational, the sites do not generate appreciable noise. The inverters have a quiet hum when the plant is generating during daylight hours, but the noise is not audible beyond the property line. The inverters are typically located centrally on the project site, far enough away from neighboring houses to be imperceptible.
A solar farm is a collection of interconnected solar panels that are strategically placed to maximize their ability to capture sunlight and convert it to electricity. Sunlight contains little packets of energy called photons. When photons from the sun reach the solar panels, it causes energy electrons within those panels to move and in turn create an electrical current. That electric current is then sent to an inverter which converts it from DC to AC. That power is then pushed out from the solar site onto the transmission lines where the electricity is then distributed to households and businesses.
Once operational, our projects do not generate any noise that can be heard outside the facility fencing. The inverters have a quiet hum, not unlike that heard from a residential transformer. We typically have 60’-40’ setbacks around the exterior of the site, with a 100’ setback from the interior parcel. Given the location of the inverters within the fenced array, sounds from these projects are imperceptible.
Solar modules do not cause glare in houses because modules are designed to absorb (rather than reflect) as much light as possible and are covered with a protective layer of anti-reflective matte glass.
No. Responsible solar development can actually enhance, not harm, wildlife habitat.
Silicon Ranch’s approach to land management has demonstrated that responsible solar development can improve wildlife habitat. For instance, we have seen a measurable increase in bobwhite quail populations at our Hazlehurst projects in Jeff Davis County, where the previous regime of intensive tillage and herbicide use for cotton-peanut-corn farms damaged bobwhite quail populations over the past 80 years. With a transition to zero soil disturbance after construction, perennial vegetation, and properly timed mowing events, these solar projects create ground nesting bird habitat where bobwhite quail and other wildlife thrive. These healthy populations then spill over into adjacent hunting properties, where neighbors share in the benefit of this work.
In addition, Silicon Ranch has developed and funded a private Gopher Tortoise Sanctuary in partnership with Georgia Department of Natural Resources on the company’s privately owned lands in Clay County. Working together, Silicon Ranch and the Department have relocated several tortoises from surrounding projects, and have room for more. In Lee County, Silicon Ranch intentionally designed in wildlife corridors at the DeSoto project site.
Silicon Ranch takes wildlife habitat very seriously, and our investment in this sanctuary and these wildlife corridors is testament.
Our Regenerative Energy platform is an outcome driven, third-party verified holistic standard of excellence for the design, construction, and operation of solar farms.
For our ecological monitoring, we contract with Savory Institute Ecological Outcome Verification Professional Monitors to take soil samples and perform the short- and long-term ecological monitoring.
We measure and third-party verify our ecological outcomes using the Savory Institute’s Land to Market Ecological Outcome Verification assessment methodology, which was developed in collaboration with leading soil scientists, ecologists, agronomists, and an extensive network of regenerative land managers around the world. This methodology measures the health of the land as a living system. In 2022, the Savory Institute certified land housing seven Silicon Ranch solar facilities as ‘regenerative’.
If we conduct a soil carbon project at a site, we contract with Earth Optics to measure soil carbon. The soil is also tested at four laboratories, including one for agriculture analysis, during our Geotechnical testing prior to construction.
Yes, our projects follow and adhere to all local, state, and federal regulations including fencing, electric codes, and signage. Additionally, Silicon Ranch projects are monitored 24/7 so that any disturbance to the system can be quickly and safely acted upon.
With 23 projects in Georgia operating, under construction, or contracted, Silicon Ranch’s solar projects in Georgia create more than 6,500 jobs.
Our goal at Silicon Ranch is to leave the land as good, if not better, than when we initially find it.
During operation, we maintain the land using regenerative land management practices that promote long-term, deep-rooted vegetation and faster plant growth cycles. This approach, which we implement under our Regenerative Energy® platform, not only multiplies the typical beneficial outcomes of a solar project but also creates new benefits, including healing degraded soils, improving ecosystem function, and increasing biodiversity of both plants and wildlife, as well as pollinator habitat.
Regenerative Energy came to be in large part as a result of an invitation from White Oak Pastures owner Will Harris to Silicon Ranch to visit his family’s world-renowned regenerative ranch in Bluffton. Harris introduced Silicon Ranch leadership to the methods of planned livestock grazing and other regenerative agricultural practices that his family had been deploying at White Oak Pastures for more than two decades. The result was a new partnership and Silicon Ranch’s innovative model for the solar industry, Regenerative Energy, our holistic approach to project design, construction, and land management that we now deploy across thousands of acres of land that we own and manage in the United States.
We recognize Georgia’s pride in the unique communities that make up the state and will implement the regenerative land management practices that are appropriate to each community to continue that legacy, in partnership with the local community and surrounding area.
Silicon Ranch aims to refrain from the use of any pesticides at our projects, unless required by state law where a project is located to mitigate noxious weeds determined injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops or, in some instances, to prevent small targeted amounts of vegetation from growing up into equipment that would interfere with plant performance and impede the facility’s ability to deliver power to serve homes and businesses in the long-term. When circumstances require that we use pesticides, Silicon Ranch is committed to minimizing their use, meaning that we only spot spray EPA approved herbicides – which are commonly used on timber farms – when required. We never broadcast spray herbicides or pesticides.
We recognize that our responsibility as a good neighbor doesn’t stop at our fence line. Rather than viewing the land housing our solar projects as a liability, we recognize that land and vegetation are valuable natural resources and biological assets. When land and vegetation are managed properly, and in alignment with natural systems, we can revitalize soils, restore grassland ecosystems, increase biodiversity, sequester carbon, improve water quality, and build better solar facilities. Ultimately, through our Regenerative Energy approach, our goal is to leave the land better than we found it.
We recognize Georgia’s pride in the unique ecosystems that make up the state and we are committed to designing, building, and operating our solar facilities in a way that continues that legacy, in partnership with communities throughout Georgia.
Our solar projects are designed with reliability and the highest performance in mind over their 40-year useful lifetimes. This 40-year view means we design the entire plant and select equipment to last up to 40 years. Unlike some developers who may focus more on meeting minimum design criteria to reduce short-term costs, Silicon Ranch places more emphasis on reliability and the requirements of long-term ownership.
At the end of 40 years, our Georgia projects will either be repowered with new solar equipment or decommissioned. If a project is decommissioned, all system components will be removed and the ground will be stabilized. All costs associated with the decommissioning process will be the responsibility of Silicon Ranch, not the community or local government. As Silicon Ranch will continue to own the property and will remain a member of the community, we are invested in ensuring that decommissioning will occur safely and responsibly, and that the site remains in excellent condition.
Silicon Ranch purchases solar panels for our projects with end-of-life in mind and we seek the most cost-effective and environmentally responsible path for recycling modules at their end of life.
We are committed to leading industry advancements in recycling. To process-end-of life solar modules from Silicon Ranch projects, we have partnered with two pioneers in US-based solar industry panel recycling: SOLARCYCLE, which offers an advanced recycling platform that recovers approximately 95% of the value of solar panel materials, including glass and aluminum, as well as silicon, copper, and silicon, and First Solar, which recovers approximately 90 percent of materials. Recovered module materials will help fuel the growing U.S. solar manufacturing industry with a domestic supply of materials essential to the production of new solar panels.
Our industry leading recycling partnerships support our commitments to advance domestic solar manufacturing, a circular solar economy that reduces material use and recaptures “waste” as a resource to manufacture new panels, and economic development opportunities in communities across the country.
The remaining part of the panel materials, which are made of plastics, do not have much value. SOLARCYCLE is committed to zero waste, however, and the company has found off-takers who will use the plastic for secondary applications to avoid sending panel materials to a landfill.
Frequently Asked Questions About Silicon Ranch Solar Projects
