The Outlook | January 2025

A trusted source of environmental information

Agrivoltaics

Merging Solar Energy and Agricultural Production

As the U.S. continues efforts to transform its energy to renewable sources, solar power is growing in importance. The Department of Energy estimates that solar could provide 40% of U.S. electricity by 2035. However, accomplishing this goal could require as much as 5.7 million acres of land (and another 4.6 million acres by 2050), setting up a potential conflict with agricultural production. A new approach to solar development may provide a solution. Dubbed agrivoltaics or simply AV, the concept is to combine solar energy and food production. While colocation of energy and agriculture tends to result in lower production of both agricultural crops and solar energy than when land is dedicated solely to production of one or the other, combined production offers the potential for optimization of land use, reducing competition for land, and greater income and market diversity for landowners.



This report examines the potential of agrivoltaics, research findings, early experiences, and challenges to widespread development. Throughout the report the terms solar panel and photovoltaic (PV) panel are used interchangeably.


Read the Report

Collaborating on Carbon Infographic


Check out our infographic on key takeaways from the Collaborating on Carbon project. Read the report here: https://www.dovetailinc.org/portfoliodetail.php?id=673cca1050fb3


Thanks to the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities for financial support to make this project possible.

View Infographic

Dovetail Partners 2025 Webinar Series:

Dovetail Partners is offering quarterly webinars throughout 2025 to highlight key topics and provide greater insight into issues addressed in our reporting. You can register for the whole series or individual webinars here.


Q1: Exploring Carbon Capture & Storage - Innovations in Climate Solutions

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz & Harry Groot

March 7, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST


Q2: Tree-Free, Hemp, and Non-Wood Alternatives - Impacts & Trade-Offs

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz, Jim Bowyer, Ph.D., Mark Jacobs

June 6, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST


Q3: Bioenergy Developments - Trends and Conditions

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz & Jim Bowyer, Ph.D.

September 5, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST


Q4: To be determined

December 5, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST


Note that the topic for the final webinar in the series has not been selected yet. We invite your suggestions for what you would like to have addressed at our December 2025 event. We’ll announce the selected topic following the Q3 event. View more information about the speakers and webinar topics here.

Register Here

Prescribed Fire in the Great Lake States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan

Lukas Lock-Scamp, Internship Project



Fire is no longer commonplace in the modern landscape of the United States. Its absence in our ecosystems is the result of the displacement of indigenous populations, fire-suppression policies, and the suppressive conceptions of fire in the public conscience. The movement to reintroduce fire with the use of prescribed burns is critical to the improved stewardship of all managed areas that were previously part of a historic burn regime, heralding benefits such as reducing fuel for future burns, and increasing landscape heterogeneity (Kreider et al.). Current literature on the use and impact of prescribed fire centers the American West, in part because it holds most of the wilderness areas in the lower 48 states (Boerigter, “Untrammeling”; Prichard et al.). This paper organizes theory and practice as it relates to the Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where case studies are used to highlight what prescribed fire could look like under state, tribal, or private management respectively. The intent of this publication is to address the need for further geographically-specific literature, feature pertinent case studies, and inform the continued work of fire practitioners in Minnesota and beyond. Read our intern's, Lukas Lock-Scamp, paper here.

Welcome to the Team!


McKenna Stone is an intern this semester and is assisting with research data and analytics. McKenna is an environmental economics and policy major with a minor in sustainable design at the University of California, Berkeley.


Balancing Forest Values and Benefits in an Era of Change


Tony D'Amato, a professor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, presented at Dovetail's team meeting to discuss the challenges facing forests today. He provided insights into how these issues are being addressed, the importance of understanding connections to forests and wood sourcing, and the values and benefits associated with conserving unmanaged forests and actively stewarding well-managed ones.

New Opportunities Now Paper Finalized



The Opportunities Now paper "Wisconsin Forests at Risk: Engaging Wisconsinites in Another Century of Forest Conservation" was published in December. Kathryn Fernholz of Dovetail Partners provided insights and feedback during the paper’s development. This report aims to spark public conversations to address these key challenges: declines in forest productivity and forest health, changes in the economics of forest management, and changes in forest ownership and owner objectives.

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