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Agrivoltaic systems, which deliberately maximize the utility of a single parcel of land for both solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity production and agriculture, have been demonstrated as a viable technology that can ameliorate competing land uses and meet growing energy and food demands efficiently. The goal of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of a novel pasture-based agrivoltaic concept: co-farming rabbits and solar PV. A life cycle assessment (LCA) quantified the impacts of 1) the integrated agrivoltaic concept in comparison to conventional practices including 2) separate rabbit farming and PV production and 3) separate rabbit farming and conventional electricity production. The impact assessment methods employed to determine the environmental impacts were IPCC 2013 global warming potential 100a V1.03 and fossil energy demand V1.11. The results indicate that the pasture-based agrivoltaic system produces the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions (3.8 million kg CO₂ equivalent) and demands the least amount of fossil energy (46 million MJ) per functional unit of cumulative MWh output of electricity and cumulative kg of meat over 30 years in comparison to the two other scenarios under study. The pasture-based agrivoltaic system features a dual synergy that consequently produces 69.3 % less emissions and demands 82.9 % less fossil energy compared to non-integrated production. The potential for agrivoltaic systems to significantly reduce environmental impacts revealed by this LCA demonstrates that integrated solar and pasture-based agricultural systems are superior to conventional practices in terms of their comparatively lower emission and energy intensity. These findings provide empirical support for increased agrivoltaic system development more broadly.
Alexis S. Pascaris; Rob Handler; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 2021, 3, 100030 .
AMA StyleAlexis S. Pascaris, Rob Handler, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce. Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption. 2021; 3 ():100030.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexis S. Pascaris; Rob Handler; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Life cycle assessment of pasture-based agrivoltaic systems: Emissions and energy use of integrated rabbit production." Cleaner and Responsible Consumption 3, no. : 100030.
To safeguard against meat supply shortages during pandemics or other catastrophes, this study analyzed the potential to provide the average household’s entire protein consumption using either soybean production or distributed meat production at the household level in the U.S. with: (1) pasture-fed rabbits, (2) pellet and hay-fed rabbits, or (3) pellet-fed chickens. Only using the average backyard resources, soybean cultivation can provide 80–160% of household protein and 0–50% of a household’s protein needs can be provided by pasture-fed rabbits using only the yard grass as feed. If external supplementation of feed is available, raising 52 chickens while also harvesting the concomitant eggs or alternately 107 grain-fed rabbits can meet 100% of an average household’s protein requirements. These results show that resilience to future pandemics and challenges associated with growing meat demands can be incrementally addressed through backyard distributed protein production. Backyard production of chicken meat, eggs, and rabbit meat reduces the environmental costs of protein due to savings in production, transportation, and refrigeration of meat products and even more so with soybeans. Generally, distributed production of protein was found to be economically competitive with centralized production of meat if distributed labor costs were ignored.
Theresa Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5067 .
AMA StyleTheresa Meyer, Alexis Pascaris, David Denkenberger, Joshua Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):5067.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTheresa Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua Pearce. 2021. "U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production during and after Pandemics." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 5067.
To safeguard against meat supply shortages during pandemics or other catastrophes, this study analyzed the potential to provide the average household’s entire protein consumption using either soybean production or distributed meat production at the household level in the U.S. with: 1) pasture-fed rabbits, 2) pellet and hay-fed rabbits, or 3) pellet-fed chickens. Only using the average backyard resources, soybean cultivation can provide 80%-160% of household protein and 0%-50% of a household’s protein needs can be provided by pasture-fed rabbits using only the yard grass as feed. If external supplementation of feed is available, raising 52 chickens while also harvesting the concomitant eggs or alternately 107 grain-fed rabbits can meet 100% of an average household’s protein requirements. These results show that resilience to future pandemics and challenges associated with growing meat demands can be incrementally addressed through backyard distributed protein production. Backyard production of chicken meat, eggs, and rabbit meat reduces environmental costs of protein due to savings in production, transportation, and refrigeration of meat products and even more so with soybeans. Generally, distributed production of protein was found to be economically competitive with centralized production of meat if distributed labor costs were ignored.
Theresa K. Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleTheresa K. Meyer, Alexis Pascaris, David Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTheresa K. Meyer; Alexis Pascaris; David Denkenberger; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "U.S. Potential of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal and Plant Protein Production During & After Pandemics." , no. : 1.
Large-scale development of solar-generated electricity is hindered in some regions of the U.S. by land use competition and localized social resistance. One approach to alleviate these coupled challenges is agrivoltaics: the strategic co-location of solar photovoltaics and agriculture. To explore the opportunities and barriers for agrivoltaics, in-depth interviews with solar industry professionals were conducted and findings suggest that the potential for an agrivoltaic project to retain agricultural interests and consequently increase local support for development is the most significant opportunity of dual use solar. Capable of increasing community acceptance, participants expect agrivoltaics to play an important role in future solar endeavors, especially in places where development may be perceived as a threat to agricultural interests. The results further reveal the interconnections among the various dimensions of social acceptance and suggest that the growth of agrivoltaics is contingent on market adoption of the technology through community acceptance and supportive local regulatory environments. As solar photovoltaic systems transcend niche applications to become larger and more prevalent, the dimensions of social acceptance, including the opportunities and barriers associated with each dimension, can help inform decision making to enhance the growth of agrivoltaics and thus photovoltaic development. The findings can help land use planners, solar developers, and municipal governments make informed decisions that strategically and meaningfully integrate agriculture and solar, and in turn provide multiple benefits including the retention of agricultural land, local economic development, and broad adoption of solar energy technologies.
Alexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Laurie Burnham; Joshua M. Pearce. Integrating solar energy with agriculture: Industry perspectives on the market, community, and socio-political dimensions of agrivoltaics. Energy Research & Social Science 2021, 75, 102023 .
AMA StyleAlexis S. Pascaris, Chelsea Schelly, Laurie Burnham, Joshua M. Pearce. Integrating solar energy with agriculture: Industry perspectives on the market, community, and socio-political dimensions of agrivoltaics. Energy Research & Social Science. 2021; 75 ():102023.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Laurie Burnham; Joshua M. Pearce. 2021. "Integrating solar energy with agriculture: Industry perspectives on the market, community, and socio-political dimensions of agrivoltaics." Energy Research & Social Science 75, no. : 102023.
Agrivoltaic systems are a strategic and innovative approach to combine solar photovoltaic (PV)-based renewable energy generation with agricultural production. Recognizing the fundamental importance of farmer adoption in the successful diffusion of the agrivoltaic innovation, this study investigates agriculture sector experts’ perceptions on the opportunities and barriers to dual land-use systems. Using in-depth, semistructured interviews, this study conducts a first study to identify challenges to farmer adoption of agrivoltaics and address them by responding to societal concerns. Results indicate that participants see potential benefits for themselves in combined solar and agriculture technology. The identified barriers to adoption of agrivoltaics, however, include: (i) desired certainty of long-term land productivity, (ii) market potential, (iii) just compensation and (iv) a need for predesigned system flexibility to accommodate different scales, types of operations, and changing farming practices. The identified concerns in this study can be used to refine the technology to increase adoption among farmers and to translate the potential of agrivoltaics to address the competition for land between solar PV and agriculture into changes in solar siting, farming practice, and land-use decision-making.
Alexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1885 .
AMA StyleAlexis S. Pascaris, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce. A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (12):1885.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexis S. Pascaris; Chelsea Schelly; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "A First Investigation of Agriculture Sector Perspectives on the Opportunities and Barriers for Agrivoltaics." Agronomy 10, no. 12: 1885.
Due to market failures that allow uncompensated negative externalities from burning fossil fuels, there has been a growing call for climate change-related litigation targeting polluting companies. To determine the most intensive carbon dioxide (CO2)-emitting facilities in order prioritize liability for climate lawsuits, and risk mitigation strategies for identified companies as well as their insurers and investors, two methods are compared: (1) the conventional point-source method and (2) the proposed bottleneck method, which considers all emissions that a facility enables rather than only what it emits. Results indicate that the top ten CO2 emission bottlenecks in the U.S. are predominantly oil (47%) and natural gas (44%) pipelines. Compared to traditional point-source emissions methods, this study has demonstrated that a comprehensive bottleneck calculation is more effective. By employing an all-inclusive approach to calculating a polluting entity’s CO2 emissions, legal actions may be more accurately focused on major polluters, and these companies may preemptively mitigate their pollution to curb vulnerability to litigation and risk. The bottleneck methodology reveals the discrete link in the chain of the fossil-fuel lifecycle that is responsible for the largest amount of emissions, enabling informed climate change mitigation and risk management efforts.
Alexis S. Pascaris; Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization of Targets for Climate Liability. Energies 2020, 13, 3932 .
AMA StyleAlexis S. Pascaris, Joshua M. Pearce. U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization of Targets for Climate Liability. Energies. 2020; 13 (15):3932.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexis S. Pascaris; Joshua M. Pearce. 2020. "U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization of Targets for Climate Liability." Energies 13, no. 15: 3932.