LAFAYETTE, Ind., Feb. 24, 2026 – Mammoth Solar has joined forces with Purdue University and a diverse coalition of partners on an innovative initiative aimed at helping rural Midwest communities to overcome mounting challenges from extreme weather and rising energy demands.
Hailstorms, heat waves, and high winds are disrupting crops and straining energy systems across the Midwest. Purdue University and its partners launched the Midwest Agrivoltaics for Resilient Communities (MARC) initiative under the National Science Foundation’s Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator program to tackle these challenges. MARC combines solar and agriculture in a dual-use model that boosts food production and energy reliability. This Phase 1 award opens the door to a $15 million Phase 2 grant for expanded research and implementation.
As part of this effort, Mammoth Solar is dedicating a specialized demonstration zone within its project footprint in Pulaski and Starke Counties exclusively for research and community impact activities. This area will host crop trials, robotics testing, and advanced monitoring systems to evaluate how agrivoltaics can optimize land use and improve agricultural performance. This investment reinforces Doral Renewables’ long-term commitment to dual land use, regenerative land management, and farmer-friendly solar development.
To enhance the platform’s technological capabilities, Mammoth Solar is also collaborating with Nextpower (formerly Nextracker), a global leader in advanced solar energy technology solutions for solar power plants. Nextpower will contribute its flagship NX Horizon™ solar tracker technology, along with proprietary planning software, to support agricultural monitoring, performance modeling, and resilience under challenging weather conditions.
“Mammoth Solar brings practical expertise in large-scale solar development and dual-use practices,” said Ed Baptista, Doral Renewables Vice President of Development and Agrivoltaics. “By dedicating space for crop trials and harnessing Purdue and Nextpower’s expertise, we aim to show that agrivoltaics can provide reliable power, protect agricultural productivity, and strengthen rural economies against climate and market disruptions.”
“Agrivoltaics is already well established in other markets like Europe, and this initiative is an important opportunity to advance dual-use solar in the U.S.,” said Jake Morin, Nextpower Chief Product Officer. “At Nextpower, our approach to resilience is grounded in research and field experience across more than 150 gigawatts of systems operating in diverse terrain and extreme weather conditions. We’re proud to partner with Purdue University and Doral on research that applies that experience to agrivoltaics, helping landowners and rural communities better understand how solar infrastructure and agriculture can work together to enhance productivity and resilience.”
The MARC project addresses critical concerns for farmers and rural communities: power outages caused by storms, economic losses from crop damage, and uncertainty about the performance of agrivoltaic systems under severe weather conditions. By integrating solar infrastructure with farmland, agrivoltaics offers a dual-use approach that strengthens both energy and agricultural resilience, while offering farmers the opportunity to maximize land use and diversify revenue streams.
“When hail ruins a harvest, heat strains livestock, or windstorms cut electricity, farmers and their communities are hit hard,” said Dr. Dan Chavas, Principal Investigator at Purdue University. “Our goal is to understand how agrivoltaics can make our nation’s rural communities more resilient and prosperous.”
This partnership aims to demonstrate how agrivoltaics can strengthen rural communities by delivering energy, protecting farmland, and creating pathways for long-term stability and growth.
Media Contact:
Mammoth Solar – Ran Rabi, ranrabi@doral-llc.com
Purdue University – Tara Greene, greenet@purdue.edu
Nextpower – Brandy Lee, Media@Nextpower.com
