How Dual-Use Solar Projects in Illinois Are Transforming Businesses

As solar power continues to change the energy landscape, dual-use systems can enhance sustainability while optimizing land usage. The global agrivoltaics market, valued at $4.59 billion in 2024, is expected to grow to $5.13 billion by the end of 2025, with a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.70% projected to reach in 2034. Today, we’ll examine how such projects can change the energy production landscape in Illinois.

5 Most Common Types of Dual-Use Solar Projects in Illinois

Dual-use PV technologies combine solar energy production with other land uses, such as agriculture, transport infrastructure, etc. This comprehensive table gathers the 5 most common choices for dual-use solar projects in Illinois.

Let’s dig right in!

Solar Project Type	Mostly Used For
Agrivoltaics solar system	With this approach of solar land development, businesses place solar panels above or alongside crops to generate energy and shade light-sensitive vegetables. They can mount horizontal panels at various heights to ensure sufficient sunlight reaches the plants or install vertical agrivoltaics systems that can act as a fence.
Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV solar panels)	In this approach, panels become part of the building, combining energy-generation and decorative purposes for sustainable, space-efficient solutions.
Floating Solar Panels (Floatovoltaics)	Floating photovoltaics generate solar energy without occupying land by leveraging water bodies, like ponds or closed reservoirs.
Solar Greenhouses	In this case, panels are installed on the roof of a greenhouse, allowing plants to benefit from diffused sunlight. The agrivoltaics greenhouse setup can make winter plant production more independent from the grid.
Solar Transport Infrastructure	In urban or semi-rural areas, businesses can integrate solar panels into roadways, parking lots, or railway tracks.

Each of these technologies offers a unique way to balance green energy production with other land uses, improving the area’s economy and environment.

 

Agrivoltaics Concept

The agrivoltaics definition states that it’s the practice of combining agriculture and solar power production on the same land. Instead of providing two distinctive areas for farming and PV panels, agrivoltaic companies grow plants and generate solar energy in the same field. They allow crops to grow beneath or between elevated panels.

 

Solar farmers often use bifacial panels that can capture the power of the Sun from front and rear sides, improving the system’s electricity yield. Typically, those systems are up to 15-30% more effective than monofacial panels. Bifacial panels are great for various agrivoltaics projects in places with short, snowy days, making them a great choice for Illinois.

Shade from agricultural solar systems reduces heat stress, improves soil moisture retention, and lowers water evaporation. Vegetation below the panels can help cool them down, improving their performance. In the long run, dual-use solar projects in Illinois can diversify farmers’ revenue streams.

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are solar panels integrated directly into a building’s structure, replacing conventional materials such as roofs, facades, windows, etc.

Unlike traditional panels mounted on existing surfaces such as roofs or balconies, BIPV solar panels serve a dual purpose by generating renewable energy while acting as a functional part of the building.

There are three most common types of such systems:

• Solar roofs and shingles: These BIPV solar panels replace traditional roofing materials with solar-integrated roofing that looks like regular shingles or tiles. Tesla’s solar roof and Suntegra shingles are the two most well-known examples.
• Solar facades: These BIPV solar panels are incorporated into building exteriors as cladding, offering both aesthetic appeal and energy production. Copenhagen’s International School’s blue-tinted solar facade is the most well-known example of a solar facade.
• Solar windows and skylights: They are semi-transparent solar glass that replaces traditional windows, allowing natural light to enter the room. They are less efficient than traditional systems since these BIPV solar panels are made with thin-film solar cells. However, they still generate some green energy to make the building less dependent on the grid. Ubiquitous Energy’s transparent solar windows are one of the best-known examples.

BIPV solar panels blend seamlessly into architectural designs without requiring additional space. Such roofs, facades, and windows offer extra UV protection, soundproofing, and thermal insulation.

Source: Energy.gov 

Advancements in thin-film material make such panels more efficient and affordable year by year. As demand for net-zero buildings grows, BIPV solar panels are expected to become a standard feature in modern architecture.

Floating Solar Panels (Floatovoltaics)

These are solar systems installed on the surface of water bodies. Instead of using land, these panels float on platforms, making them a space-efficient solution for generating renewable energy.

The floating photovoltaics market is relatively new, but it’s steadily increasing and is projected to grow to $180 million by 2030. This power generation approach has many benefits, including but not limited to:

1. Land conservation: These systems free up land for agriculture, urban development, or conservation efforts.
2. Increased energy efficiency: Water helps cool the solar panels by preventing overheating.
3. Reduction in water evaporation: The panels provide shade over the water, helping to conserve water in reservoirs.
4. Algae growth control: It benefits aquatic ecosystems due to limited water sunlight penetration.

Floating solar systems can be installed on hydroelectric reservoirs, creating a hybrid system where solar energy complements hydroelectric generation.

It’s difficult to control such systems in open reservoirs, so we rarely see them in publicly used water bodies, such as Lake Michigan. If the business wants to put floating solar photovoltaics on open bodies of water, they must collect extra permissions and physically isolate panels.

Solar Greenhouses

It’s a greenhouse designed to optimize plant growth while incorporating solar energy production. There are 3 types of such buildings: greenhouses with BIPV solar panels, passive agrivoltaics greenhouse, and mixed approaches.

Solar Greenhouse Type	Crucial Specifics
Greenhouses with BIPV solar panels	Here, panels are integrated into the roof to generate electricity. Such greenhouses use BIPV solar panels that allow partial sunlight to pass through, making them suitable for shade-tolerant crops.
Passive Solar Greenhouses	These greenhouses do not rely on electricity-producing solar panels but instead use thermal mass materials to absorb and store solar heat during the day and release it at night.
Hybrid Solar Greenhouses	These dual-use solar projects in Illinois use a combination of rooftop agrivoltaics and passive solar heating to generate electricity while also using design elements to trap and distribute heat.

 

This approach of solar for farmers allows them to reduce dependence on external energy sources while optimizing the internal climate inside of the greenhouse. These dual-use solar projects in Illinois enable farmers to grow crops while generating renewable energy, maximizing land efficiency.

Solar Transport Infrastructure

Solar-powered transport infrastructure integrates photovoltaic (PV) panels into roads, highways, parking lots, bike paths, and even on public transport vehicles. These technologies harness sunlight to generate electricity while supporting transportation needs, creating a dual-use infrastructure that enhances sustainability.

Despite the general audience thinking it’s more of urban development, many agrivoltaics companies are dedicated to developing such services.

Let’s quickly examine the most common types of transport infrastructure that are part of dual-use solar projects in Illinois:

1. Solar roadways: In this case, panels are embedded into roads to generate electricity while supporting vehicle traffic. They are often equipped with durable tempered glass, LEDs for smart signaling, and heating elements to prevent ice buildup.
2. Solar bike and pedestrian paths: Here, thin solar panels are embedded into bike lanes or sidewalks, generating power for street lighting, charging stations, and local grids.
3. Solar-powered parking lots: When it comes to solar-powered parking lots, businesses put solar panels onto high poles, so panels may act as a shading roof for cars. You can use BIPV solar panels to catch even more light from the Sun. Such systems can be integrated with electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
4. Vehicle-integrated photovoltaics: In this case, panels are placed onto various vehicles (cars, buses, trains, etc.) to capture sunlight and power the electrical equipment of such vehicles.

Tap Into the Potential of Dual-Use Solar Projects in Illinois

The integration of green electricity production into various sectors, from agriculture and solar to urban infrastructure, demonstrates the vast potential of dual-use photovoltaic systems in Illinois.

From agrivoltaic solar companies that enhance crop yields to building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) that revolutionize urban energy use, all these technologies are changing the green power landscape. As solar materials become more affordable, governments and businesses invest in sustainable solutions.