Rutgers solar farm stands panels upright like fences while cattle graze between rows collecting sunlight from both sides
An animal farm run by Rutgers University in New Brunswick features a three-acre pasture, which, at first glance, would appear to be just another farm field. The cattle graze between rows of panels set up vertically, facing east and west to maximize exposure to the morning and afternoon sun.
It is not a solar farm located where a farm once stood. It is both.
A field that does two things at once
The Rutgers University Animal Farm sits on College Farm Road on the George H. Cook campus in New Brunswick. Across three acres of grassy field, 378 vertical bifacial solar panels rise from the ground in long, evenly spaced rows. They don’t tilt toward the south the way most solar installations do. They stand straight up—like fence lines dividing a pasture—because, functionally, that’s close to what they are.
In the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Bridgeton, south of New Jersey, scientists have entered their third year of specialty crop experiments.
This arrangement is the physical expression of agrivoltaics: using the same land, at the same time, for both agriculture and solar energy production. The idea sounds simple. The execution is anything but.
What makes the Rutgers installation notable is what it refuses to give up. The land stays a working farm. Cattle still graze it. Researchers still plant crops nearby. The panels generate electricity without pushing the agricultural life around them aside.
Why vertical panels change the equation
The panels on the Animal Farm have double sides; the solar rays strike both sides of the panels. The panels run east to west so that the front side gets sunshine in the morning, whereas the back gets afternoon sunshine.
However, this is totally opposite to the traditional approach, where the panels are mounted at low angles facing south to make the most out of the midday rays. It serves very well for generating electricity but leaves no room for anything else. Cattle cannot graze there, and neither can crops be cultivated.
The vertical design at Rutgers University solves this by spacing rows 34 feet apart—enough room for farm equipment to move freely between them, for cattle to roam, and for raised crop beds with drip irrigation running down the center.
“Where a major solar farm gets built, in effect, that space can’t be used for agriculture anymore, so you can’t cultivate any crops or livestock while that system is in place,” explained David Specca, Assistant Director of the Rutgers EcoComplex and the director of the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program.
This design aims to change that equation.
Tomatoes, eggplant, and beef cattle—all under the same panels
In the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Bridgeton, south of New Jersey, scientists have entered their third year of specialty crop experiments. Three crops have been planted—fresh-market tomato ‘Red Deuce’, Sicilian eggplant ‘Palermo’, and bell pepper ‘Turnpike’. The crops are grown under the following three regimes—without panels, with one overhead panel, and with two panels.
The planting process is rather rigorous. Already in early June 2026, the soil has been discarded and spaded. Raised beds with black plastic mulching material on white were made with drip irrigation; the transplants were planted manually using a water wheel transplanter, placed in single rows on center. Weather stations – the power source of which was the same solar array—were placed in the panel rows for microclimate monitoring during the whole growing season.
Under the panels parked at solar noon, one can easily use tractors and transplanters. This is important, since the farmers can use their regular equipment.
Back at the Animal Farm in New Brunswick, the research focuses on beef cattle grazing patterns and hay harvesting ease—practical questions for the livestock farmers who might one day adopt this technology.
A $7.4 million stake on the agricultural future of New Jersey
The initiative is based on a combination of multiple funding sources worth $7.4 million. In total, the state invested $2.9 million for construction at three agricultural sites. The U.S. Department of Energy provided another $1.6 million under the FARMS initiative, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities offered a contract worth $2.8 million linked to the state’s Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program.
The stakes extend well beyond one university farm. New Jersey has roughly 700,000 acres of farmland and more than 10,000 farms—about one-third on preserved land. The state’s Energy Master Plan targets 100% renewable electricity by 2050. Governor Phil Murphy has proposed reaching that goal by 2035.
Agrivoltaics represents a possible solution for the following dilemma: New Jersey requires additional solar energy, but, at the same time, there is an obligation to preserve the agricultural character of the Garden State. Although vertical bifacial panels cannot solve this dilemma, they can reformulate it.
What scientists are yet to discover
The multi-year experiment that started at the beginning of the 2024 growing season will be conducted in three locations on Rutgers farms. It will involve crop yield assessment in different panel density scenarios, cattle grazing patterns, hay harvesting convenience, and microclimate factors measured via Campbell Scientific weather stations located in each experimental plot.
Animal Farm is the first-ever vertical bifacial solar array in New Jersey—which means that all seasons of collected data will have policy implications. Data will help regulators formulate the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program in the state.
Collaborators include Delaware State University, American Farmland Trust, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. That coalition suggests this research is designed to travel beyond New Jersey’s borders. As more states confront the same land-use pressures, the question Rutgers is trying to answer—can a solar farm still be a farm?—will only grow more relevant.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
