Independent advisory · Agrivoltaics

Rooted Renewables

I advise multinational corporations on the structure and business case for responsible solar.

Scroll · The case for ag-PV →
The premise

After a decade in renewable energy, I've watched solar grow into something the land can hold — not just sit on.

Agrivoltaics is where the grid meets the harvest. Sheep graze beneath elevated arrays. Pollinators return to fields that once were monoculture. Soybeans and tomatoes ripen in dappled light that protects them from heat stress.

The economics, the climate case, and the community case all point the same direction. My job is to make that overlap legible to the people writing the check.

The case for ag-PV

Where agrivoltaics pays off.

For corporate buyers
01 / Corporates

Sustainability that holds up.

  • Enhanced community benefits
  • Compliance and reporting
  • Employee engagement
For developers & IPPs
02 / Developers & IPPs

Two credits, one acre.

  • Dual-use credits — RECs + carbon, a new marketplace
  • Soil sampling
  • Quicker permitting and community approvals

Helping farmers, too — I work alongside the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA) to bring landowners and graziers into agrivoltaic projects.

"Light hits the panel. Light reaches the crop. The same acre pays twice — if you've designed for it."
— S.L., field memo, spring 2026
The risks

What people actually ask about. And how it actually shakes out.

Most concerns about agrivoltaics are real. None of them are disqualifying. Each has a project-by-project answer.

Cost premium

Real but narrowing. Almost always offset by land economics, ITC adders, and faster local permitting.

Yield under array

Within 3–8% of conventional in most US zones. Vertical and elevated systems model differently — both work.

O&M complexity

Lower than expected when the agronomic partner enters at design phase, not bolted on after COD.

Lender comfort

Project-by-project. Built into the term sheet, not retrofitted around it. Pattern is becoming familiar.

Community acceptance

The strongest predictor of a clean interconnect. Dual-use moves the local hearing from opposition to invitation.

Crop selection

Not every crop tolerates partial shade — and not every crop should. The shortlist is shorter than the brochures suggest.

Output by design

Yield is not a tradeoff. It's a design choice.

Configured correctly, dual-use systems land within a few percent of single-use yield — and unlock revenue conventional solar can't reach.

Solar array, ground-mounted, US deployment · stock photography

Energy yield vs. single-use baseline

Modeled output, percent of conventional fixed-tilt system, US climate zones.
Single-use baseline
100%
Elevated row
96%
Vertical bifacial
92%
Pollinator + tracking
99%
Grazing-compatible
98%
Land productivity index
+12%
Rooted Renewables · The founder

Founded on a simple belief: renewable energy can deliver more than clean electricity.

After spending years advising multinational Fortune 500 companies on renewable energy procurement via virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs), renewable energy certificates (RECs), tax equity, tax credits and global decarbonization strategies, I saw firsthand how successful the industry has been at scaling clean energy. I also saw an opportunity for the next evolution of renewable development — one that creates stronger connections between renewable energy, agriculture, land stewardship, and agrarian communities.

At Rooted Renewables, I help corporations, developers and power producers, landowners, and agricultural stakeholders explore opportunities that strengthen both renewable energy outcomes and the land beneath them. My work focuses on agrivoltaics, responsible renewable development, stakeholder engagement, land stewardship, and community-centered renewable energy strategies.

I believe the future of renewable energy will not be defined solely by megawatts procured or carbon reduced, but by how renewable infrastructure can bring regenerative practices into standard operating procedures.

Areas of focus
  • Agrivoltaics, including solar grazing strategy on new sites and retroactive fits
  • Corporate renewable energy engagement and planning
  • Responsible renewable development
  • Land stewardship and agricultural integration
  • Symbiotic partnerships
  • Community and stakeholder engagement
  • Renewable procurement evolution and storytelling
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem stewardship opportunities
Experienced advisor to

HP · Toyota Boshoku America · Kimberly-Clark · T-Mobile · Levi Strauss & Co. · LVMH brands · WestRock · Maersk · SKF

Rooted Renewables exists to help move the industry from renewable procurement toward renewable stewardship.

Reach out

Let's talk about your next project.

Whether you're underwriting a site, exploring agrivoltaics, or rethinking how your renewable strategy connects to land and community — tell me what you're working on and I'll get back to you.

Prefer email? rootedrenewables@gmail.com

Begin a conversation

If your next megawatt could grow something underneath it, let's talk.

Thirty minutes, no slide deck. We'll cover where you are, what you're underwriting, and whether agrivoltaics changes the math on your next project.

Book a 30-minute call →