Agrisolar CRC
Our mission
Inform wholistic system designs that enable large scale uptake of Agrisolar, ensuring climate resilience for farmers and food security for Australians
Opening commercial opportunities for agrisolar in Australian agricultural and peri-urban contexts
The Agrisolar Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is developing a 10-year (2026-2036) industry-led ~$100M initiative that connects industry, landholder organisations, government, and research partners through authentic collaboration to initiate nature-positive, socially responsible, and innovative adoption of agrisolar projects in Australia at commercial scale.
Agrisolar System Design
This diagram shows the possibilities for agrisolar and energy flow within existing farming systems, including the financial benefits of taking a nature-positive approach (below).
Why join the Agrisolar CRC?
Investment in the CRC rewards investors and nature, and future-proofs the wellbeing of farming communities and Australian agriculture.
The CRC spotlights agrisolar as a unique market opportunity with the potential to contribute significantly to Australia’s emission reduction targets.
The CRC will engage government, community, and landholders to assess the impacts of agrisolar compared to “Business As Usual” utility solar. The priority is value to investors, nature conservation, and energy justice to farming communities.
Why a CRC?
Large-scale land transformation is needed to achieve net zero
A fully decarbonised agricultural supply chain will set Australia apart and enhance our access to sustainability-conscious international markets. To meet emissions targets, both existing and proposed, agrisolar can be a major driver in the transition to a climate-positive economy.
A full exploration of Agrisolar in Australia via a CRC will mature the decarbonisation community, grow the economy through innovative PV solar usage, and help Australia reach Net Zero emissions targets through application.
Our project & place-based approach
The CRC bid team is seeking for our partners to engage in collaborative project planning prior to bid submission in March 2025 (anticipated). This means that we will be able to map the first few years of projects for the CRC in time for submission and, if funded, pull the trigger quickly on tangible high-impact outcomes that lead us toward our 10-year vision.
To help our partners get these projects to the shovel-ready stage, we have created a ‘plan on a page’ template which is available for download.
Governance Structure
We have consulted across our consortium of partners regarding governance, IP, and commercialisation arrangements for our proposed CRC.
This template will help partners:
Scope the project/s you would like to submit in the CRC Bid Stage 1
Form and/or solidify the partnerships within the CRC that you would like to pursue via one or more projects
Align your projects with the identified research priorities for the CRC should we receive the federal go-ahead in 2026
Give a baseline of how much your in-kind contribution needs to be at the project level.
If you need help completing the template, please reach out to a member of the bid team for assistance.
Expressions of Interest
The CRC bid team is seeking expressions of interest from solar developers/owners/operators, solar mounting system OEMs, energy companies, agribusinesses, the corporate sector, engineers, food & fibre wholesalers and retailers, investors, philanthropists, and other innovators who want to investigate and capitalise upon all aspects of agrisolar by COB OCT 31, 2024