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.
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.
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) 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:
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.
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:
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.
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-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:
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.