Growing beside sleek vertical solar panels, lush green pepper plants flourish at the height of summer. A team of UC Davis researchers are analyzing an agrivoltaics system that combines farming with solar technology to boost crop growth and promote sustainability.

This innovative approach, according to UC Davis Associate Professor Majdi Abou Najm with the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, could be a valuable solution as California faces a hotter, drier climate.

As part of a historic partnership between the University of California and the state of California, UC today announced it is awarding over $80 million in climate action grants. The grants will spur implementation of solutions that directly address state climate priorities. 

Four UC Davis projects are among the grantees. They include: 

On a warm February afternoon, Kirk Pumphrey walks down his rows of almond trees at Westwind Farms in Yolo County. He notices the buds on the branches have already sprouted pink. It worries him. The earlier the trees bloom, the more likely winter frost will damage the nuts. Early blooms are occurring more often as higher temperatures from climate change stimulate plant growth. 

Due to severe water shortages, rice acres planted in California plummeted by 37% from 2021 to 2022, according to numbers released recently by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. But now, thanks to University of California researchers, growers have a new tool they could potentially use to cope with droughts and other environmental and socioeconomic changes.