Expanding Solar Power In Rural & Working-Class Communities

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

Reactivate, American Farmland Trust, and Edelen Renewables Community Solar recently announced a new partnership: Farmers Powering Communities (FPC). The mission of Farmers Powering Communities is: “Bringing together those working to feed the planet with those working to power America.” The goal is to install 500 MW of community solar power in five years.

Community solar power has many benefits and it provides a flexible option for some people in the event homeowners can’t afford their own solar power systems or utilities are not going to develop their own solar power systems. Community solar power can also be used in rural and farming areas. (About 7 months ago, I conducted an interview with some insights about how solar power and energy storage can help Texas farmers.)

The team at Farmers Powering Communities answered some questions for CleanTechnica.

What is Reactivate and what is Farmers Powering Communities? 

Reactivate, an Invenergy company, is a mission-driven organization that develops, owns, and operates renewable energy solutions designed to improve quality of life for communities across the country — with a focus on delivering meaningful benefits to working-class people. Reactivate’s portfolio includes community solar, commercial and industrial solar, small utility-scale solar, energy storage, and EV charging projects, all developed with an emphasis on supporting communities burdened by high energy costs.  Guided by a vision in which everyone benefits from renewable energy, Reactivate delivers economic, social, and environmental advantages by helping residents and businesses reduce energy expenses, creating local jobs, driving economic growth, strengthening grid resilience.  

Farmers Powering Communities is a newly formed partnership between American Farmland Trust, Reactivate, and Edelen Renewables Community Solar. FPC’s mission is to connect those working to feed the planet with those powering America, ensuring solar development is deployed to maximize benefits for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. The partnership will focus on developing distributed generation projects that serve working-class communities, with project size guided by land characteristics and energy needs.

This new partnership builds on AFT’s growing national Smart Solar℠ network and will initially focus on regions where farmland preservation and clean energy demand are both urgent priorities.  

Why is it important to bring community solar projects to American farmers and rural communities? 

Across the country, many rural communities face high energy costs and limited access to affordable, reliable power. Reactivate helps close these gaps by delivering community solar projects that guarantee bill savings, support local economies, and enhance grid reliability. Community solar is a flexible energy solution that allows anyone with an electric bill to subscribe to locally generated solar power — offering consumers more choice, encouraging competition in the energy market, and strengthening the grid. These projects typically range up to 5 MW in size and occupy 10–30 acres, making them well-suited for rural settings. Community solar installations can be ground-mounted, co-located with existing crops, placed on rooftops, or built on otherwise unusable land. When sited on farmland, they are designed to preserve the land for future agricultural use — helping protect family farms while generating clean energy and economic value. 

 How can Farmers Powering Communities advance agrivoltaics? 

FPC is unique among solar companies because it is rooted in American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar℠ principles. Smart Solar℠ refers to solar projects that meet three main, equally important goals:

 (1) safeguarding land well-suited for farming and ranching, (2) strengthening farm viability, and (3) accelerating solar energy development. Smart Solar promotes the use of agrivoltaics — the intentional combination of solar energy generation and agricultural production on the same piece of land — as a key strategy for accomplishing these goals.

FPC is committed to working with landowners to ensure that projects are designed and built in a manner that facilitates the continued production of agricultural products on land where projects are sited. Not as an afterthought, but as a priority from day one.

What are some examples of locally generated, accessible energy solutions? 

Reactivate has a portfolio of community solar projects across Illinois and New York that completed construction in 2024. This example portfolio will help approximately 5,000 households along with area non-profits, businesses, and a public school district save a minimum of 20% on their monthly electricity costs. Approximately 90% of the subscriber households qualify as working-class. Total subscriber savings are projected to exceed $17 million dollars over the projects’ useful lives. 

Do community solar projects create local jobs? 

Yes, community solar projects create local jobs, especially during the construction and maintenance phases of the project development. 

How can they generate tax revenue and drive economic growth in local communities? 

Community solar projects contribute directly to local and state economies by generating tax revenue through multiple channels — including property taxes on the solar installation, sales taxes on equipment, and, in some states, production-based taxes tied to energy output. These funds strengthen local budgets and can be reinvested in essential public services such as schools, roads, and emergency services — offsetting costs and improving quality of life.  Beyond tax revenue, Reactivate prioritizes working with local small businesses throughout project development, creating opportunities for contractors, suppliers, and service providers. Once operational, community solar helps residents save on their energy bills, increasing disposable  income that can be spent locally — fueling small businesses and contributing to a more vibrant, resilient economy. 

Can solar power help farmers stay on their family farms? If so, how? 

Absolutely. Since 1981, the U.S. has lost over 559,000 farmers and ranchers, mostly small and mid-sized operations. Today, half of all farm families report negative farm income, and 90% earn most of their income off the farm. These numbers tell a sobering story, but they also point to a powerful opportunity. 

By intentionally designing solar to benefit working farms while meeting America’s rapidly growing need for energy, we can create new revenue streams, reduce operational costs, and build resilience during these trying times. Solar leases offer long-term reliable income streams that can help create the economic conditions for farm families to not only stay on their land, but to invest in their operations and help the next generation plan for their future. This is not about replacing agriculture with solar. It’s about adding a revenue generation tool that can build long-term, generational farm viability. At American Farmland Trust, we talk to farmers every day who are harnessing these new opportunities made possible by solar.