Colorado Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant Program (AgPV)

Agrivoltaics are the integration of solar energy generation facilities with agricultural activities. To help promote multi-faceted uses of agricultural land, the Colorado Department of Agriculture operates the Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant Program. Grants are intended to investigate the advantages, additional costs, and compromises of agrivoltaics systems. Funded projects include the construction of multiple new agrivoltaic arrays that showcase various panel technologies and applications with different cropping systems, as well as outreach campaigns, research studies, the retrofitting of a traditional solar array for grazing, and economic modeling projects. The program has awarded $1 million to thirteen projects in its first two years.

The program originated from Senate Bill 23-092, in which the Colorado state legislature appropriated $500,000 to distribute as agrivoltaics grants in Fiscal Year 2023-24 to support Colorado producers and help Colorado's clean energy transition. This program is separate from CDA's existing Advancing Colorado's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ACRE3) Program.

This grant encourages innovative projects, including demonstrations of agrivoltaics, research projects, and outreach campaigns to further agrivoltaics and Colorado's agricultural economy. Eligible project types include:

• Planning and/or permitting of agrivoltaics demonstration projects;

• Construction of agrivoltaics demonstration projects;

• Expansion of existing demonstration projects of agrivoltaic systems;

• Research, monitoring and/or analysis of an agrivoltaic demonstration project;

• Outreach and communication projects promoting results found from agrivoltaics demonstration projects;

• Other projects that further the research and demonstration of agrivoltaics projects.

The Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Grant application window for Fiscal Year 2026-27 closed on June 15, 2026. See the program page for the AgPV FY27 Grant Guidelines and Grant Application, and for updates on future rounds.