New York S 7081: Establishes an agrivoltaics research program

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7081
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 17, 2023
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to  estab-
          lishing the agrivoltaics research program
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a  new
     2  section 151-j to read as follows:
     3    § 151-j. Agrivoltaics research program. 1. There is hereby established
     4  the  agrivoltaics  research  program.  The  purpose of the program is to
     5  develop innovative science-based solutions to facilitate the co-location
     6  of crops and photovoltaics while promoting the biodiversity  of  endemic
     7  flora  and  fauna. In developing the program, the New York state college
     8  of agriculture and life sciences, as named pursuant  to  section  fifty-
     9  seven  hundred  twelve of the education law, shall conduct, support, and
    10  develop technologies and management strategies, along with verifications
    11  systems to facilitate the sustainable and resilient co-location of crops
    12  and photovoltaics.
    13    2. Subject to available appropriations, the  program  shall  consider,
    14  but  not  be  limited to, the following: crop varietals and/or livestock
    15  suitable  for  agrivoltaics;  siting  design  considerations  and  array
    16  installation  techniques compatible with agricultural co-location and/or
    17  biodiversity conservation; and integration of digital and robotic  tech-
    18  nologies.  The program shall also concomitantly consider socio-economics
    19  in the formation of research trials and published  recommendations.  The
    20  program  shall  conduct and demonstrate successful cropping and/or live-
    21  stock systems and technologies in pilot locations throughout  the  state
    22  of  New  York  and  is hereby authorized to conduct such research on the
    23  state's agricultural experiment stations,  and  other  locations  deemed
    24  suitable  for private and public sector partnerships to evaluate, deter-
    25  mine, and recommend strategies to  enable  agrivoltaics.    The  Cornell
         EXPLANATION--Matter in  (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
                              [] is old law to be omitted. 
                                                                   LBD08775-02-3

        S. 7081                             2
     1  Cooperative  Extension  system shall be utilized for knowledge transfer,
     2  and annual reports shall be made and publicly disseminated.
     3    3.  The  program shall include, but not be limited to, research on the
     4  following topics, consistent with New York state's climate goals:
     5    (a) methods to maximize the economic efficiency and scientific effica-
     6  cy of the co-location of agricultural crops and photovoltaics;
     7    (b) improvements or enhancements in biodiversity  when  combined  with
     8  low-lying or elevated photovoltaic installments;
     9    (c)  development,  testing  and  deployment of technologies, including
    10  digital agriculture systems, small-scale robotics for planting, harvest-
    11  ing, and crop management;
    12    (d) research that facilitates productive agrivoltaics  across  several
    13  different varieties of crops including research that enables understand-
    14  ing  of  agrivoltaics effects on soil health, soil carbon sequestration,
    15  erosion, water management, and  specialty  crop  canopy  management  for
    16  enhanced climate resiliency; and
    17    (e)  research  that quantifies total kilowatts produced, rates of crop
    18  production, and greenhouse gas emissions avoided in lieu of fossil  fuel
    19  generation.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.