American-Made Large Animal and Solar System Operations (LASSO) Prize

The American-Made Large Animal and Solar System Operations (LASSO) Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) is an $8 million prize that supports pilot and demonstration projects designed to gather and share data on costs, business models, and outcomes associated with cattle agrivoltaics, the co-location of photovoltaics (PV) and cattle grazing operations. Multi-stakeholder teams of solar and agricultural experts will work to develop impactful projects that deepen our understanding of cattle agrivoltaics and showcase successful business models that support U.S. decarbonization goals and sustainable land use.

Agrivoltaics, the co-location of solar energy and agriculture, is a growing industry with hundreds of active sites. With around one-third of U.S. land currently used for grazing cattle, cattle agrivoltaics has the potential to accelerate solar deployment while preserving agricultural operations, generating additional income for farmers, ranchers, and landowners, and providing economic benefits for rural communities. The LASSO Prize seeks to generate data and share insights that help validate and de-risk cattle agrivoltaics designs and operations to facilitate wider adoption.