Editing Openai/68743fec-f760-8005-96f0-36db79274265 (section)

=== Assistant: Great follow-up. ===
Great follow-up. Agri-solar, or agrivoltaics, is an emerging strategy that allows for co-use of land—farming and solar generation—on the same parcel. The idea is especially valuable near high-energy-demand projects like data centers, and it's absolutely worth considering near Toronto, SD.

Let’s explore how feasible this is and what trade-offs exist for corn/soy rotations.

==== Agri-solar involves placing solar panels in a way that allows simultaneous agricultural use. There are several designs: ====
* Raised panels (6–10 feet high) for access underneath
* Wider row spacing to let sunlight reach crops
* Movable or tracking panels that adjust throughout the day

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* Corn is tall (6–10 ft) and light-intensive.
* It requires full sun and heavy machinery to plant and harvest.
* Verdict: Corn is incompatible with current agri-solar designs.

===== - Soybeans are shorter (~2–4 ft) and can tolerate partial shade, especially during vegetative growth stages. =====
* Studies in Minnesota and Colorado suggest yield reductions of 5–20%, depending on panel layout and row orientation.
* Machinery conflict: Most commercial soybean farming still uses large implements, and tight rows of solar panels make that difficult.

Verdict: Only feasible at smaller scale, with specialized equipment, row spacing adjustments, and modified practices—not standard monocrop farming.

==== - Standard row crop equipment (e.g., 30–50 ft planters, sprayers, and combines) cannot easily maneuver between solar panel arrays. ====
* Agri-solar setups typically work with: - Smaller implements - Manual or small-plot farming - Grazing livestock, hay, or pollinator crops (most common)

Conclusion: Standard corn/soy crop cycles with full-size tractors are generally not compatible with agri-solar without major operational changes.

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==== 1. Land availability: Eastern SD has flat, open land, excellent solar irradiance (~4.8–5.5 kWh/m²/day annual average). ====
# Parcel use: A 40-acre agri-solar array (~5–6 MW) could yield up to 25–30 MWh/day in summer, potentially matching cooling load shortfalls.
# Economic offset: Agri-solar could partially subsidize lost crop revenue, especially if paired with: - Sheep grazing leases - USDA agri-solar pilot programs - Carbon or RECs (renewable energy credits)

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==== - Corn and soybean rotations are not compatible with standard agri-solar setups. ====
* Sheep grazing or forage crops are much more feasible on solar-adjacent land.
* A neighboring parcel could realistically support 5–20 MW of solar, depending on size and local permitting, and meaningfully reduce the data center’s summer peak demand.
* County zoning or incentives could encourage dual-use land, especially near energy-intensive infrastructure.

Would you like me to model how much land would be needed to supply, say, 25% of the data center’s summer cooling demand, or draft a brief for a planning board proposal that supports agri-solar as a community-benefit offset?