Battery storage has reshaped how farms utilize solar energy. Farms can now capture surplus generation on-site and deploy it strategically to cut demand charges, ride through outages, and avoid expensive time-of-use rates. For operations with aging solar systems, battery upgrades paired with equipment replacement deliver benefits that weren’t economically viable just a few years ago. Repowering programs make the transition happen without capital outlay, replacing underperforming panels and inverters with modern equipment while adding storage that maximizes the value of every kilowatt-hour generated on-site.
What is Solar Farm Battery Storage?
Solar farm battery storage means adding commercial-scale lithium-ion batteries next to your solar array for more efficient energy management. The batteries charge when panels are producing the most power, usually late morning through mid-afternoon. Then they discharge when electricity costs the most or after the sun goes down and solar production stops.
Most agricultural applications benefit from storage systems with a two to four-hour range. For instance, a 500-kilowatt system with one to two megawatt-hours of capacity is the ideal configuration for most farm operations. They can handle the energy demands of irrigation pumping, ventilation fans, refrigeration units, and shop loads while providing enough capacity to meaningfully reduce utility bills and protect critical operations during outages.
How Solar Farm Battery Storage Works
When solar production exceeds what you’re using on-site, excess energy fills the battery instead of being exported to the grid at minimal compensation rates. That stored energy becomes available for strategic use later in the day.
It can be used to reduce grid purchases during expensive time-of-use windows, flatten demand spikes that drive up monthly charges, and provide backup power to critical equipment during grid interruptions. Since the battery storage system is fully integrated into the solar array, it can capture and discharge solar energy as needed.
U.S. Light Energy designs, operates, and monitors battery storage systems as part of the overall repowered system. There’s no need for farmers to manage the storage system themselves; they simply see a more stable, predictable energy bill with lower overall costs.
Key Benefits of Battery Storage for Agricultural Operations
Turn Low-Value Exports Into High-Value Savings
Export compensation has declined substantially across many markets, making it less profitable to send surplus solar production back to the grid. Batteries capture that excess energy and make it available during periods when grid power carries premium pricing. Instead of receiving minimal credits for exports, you’re offsetting expensive utility purchases when rates are highest.
Reduce Demand Charges and Manage Peak Loads
Farm equipment creates significant power demand spikes. Irrigation pumps, refrigeration compressors, ventilation fans, and cold storage systems can drive sharp peaks that account for a substantial portion of monthly utility bills. Battery systems discharge during these demand events to llower your overall load profile, directly reducing the charges utilities assess based on peak consumption levels.
Improve Resilience and Protect Crops & Livestock
Short power outages can create costly consequences for farms managing cold storage, livestock ventilation, or temperature-sensitive operations. Properly designed battery systems keep critical loads powered for several hours during grid interruptions. Having that buffer provides time for backup generation to activate or for utility service to restore, protecting valuable crops, livestock, and stored products.
Unlock the Ability to Add More Solar
Interconnection constraints and export limits can prevent farms from installing solar systems large enough to match their full annual energy consumption. Pairing solar with storage helps keep exports within allowable thresholds by consuming more energy on-site. That flexibility often enables larger system designs that better align with actual farm energy needs.
Costs to Expect When Adding Battery Storage to a Farm
Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past decade and a half. Industry data shows installed storage costs have declined approximately 90% since 2010, making these systems economically viable for agricultural applications that would have been impractical just years ago.
USLE’s repowering model eliminates all upfront capital requirements for farm owners. We absorb the cost of batteries and recover the investment through long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) rates or Energy Site Leases. You avoid writing checks for equipment while benefiting from contracted energy pricing that incorporates the savings provided by battery storage.
Incentives and Tax Credits Available for Farms
Federal Investment Tax Credits for Storage and Solar
Commercial solar and storage projects typically qualify for a 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) on project costs when prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are satisfied. Additional credits may be available for projects such as energy communities or those utilizing domestic content, although the ITC is set to end as early as June 2026.
USLE claims and monetizes these tax benefits, passing the value through to farm owners as lower long-term energy rates. It allows you to capture incentive value without navigating complex tax credit requirements or having sufficient tax liability to use the credits directly.
USDA and Rural Programs
The USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) historically provided grants and loan guarantees for farms and rural small businesses installing renewable energy and efficiency upgrades, including solar and storage systems. Recent program changes have made these incentives currently unavailable, though the landscape for rural energy programs continues to evolve.
Is Battery Storage Right for Your Solar Farm?
Battery storage makes strategic sense when one or more conditions apply to your operation. Farms with significant evening or overnight loads from cold storage, barns, drying equipment, or livestock facilities see immediate benefits from stored solar energy. Operations facing high demand charges or steep time-of-use rate structures capture substantial savings by strategically timing energy consumption.
Properties transitioning from favorable net metering arrangements to lower-value export compensation structures find storage increasingly valuable for maximizing self-consumption. Farms experiencing frequent outages gain operational security by maintaining power to critical systems during grid failures.
Not every agricultural operation may require battery storage. USLE’s repowering process includes reviewing 12 months or more of utility data to build a comprehensive 10-year energy plan. When analysis shows that storage meaningfully increases savings or enhances resilience, we incorporate battery storage into the repower design, taking on the cost and integrating it into the long-term rate structure.
Repower Your Solar Farm with USLE
Aging solar systems don’t have to drag down your operation. U.S. Light Energy’s Solar Repowering Program buys out your existing installation and replaces it with a right-sized solar and battery system at no upfront cost. We install new panels, inverters, and storage, then sell power back to you under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with predictable rates.
USLE retains ownership of the system and handles everything: site assessment, design, permitting, construction, grid connection, operations, maintenance, warranties, and tax incentive capture. You stop managing aging equipment and start enjoying lower, more stable energy costs without capital investment or project risk.
Request a free repower audit or customized 10-year energy plan to see how modern solar and battery technology can work for your farm. U.S. Light Energy is leading the charge for a new generation.