Tag Archive for: agrivoltaics

French farmers are covering crops with solar panels to produce food and energy at the same time.

French farmers are covering crops with solar panels to produce food and energy at the same time

Agrivoltaics – the practice of using land for both solar energy and agriculture – is on the rise across France.

In the Haute-Saône region, in the northeastern part of the country, an experiment is being conducted by solar-energy company TSE.  It is hoping to find out whether solar energy can be generated without hindering large-scale cereal crops.

Previous attempts to experiment with agrivoltaics have been through smaller-scale projects. But, keen to see if it can thrive on an industrial level, 5,500 solar panels are being spread over this farm in the commune town of Amance by TSE.

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Source: euronews

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Vineyards in Spain are piloting a test of solar panels with an advanced “smart” tracking system get more bang for the agrivoltaics buck.

Solar panels create micro-climate to save vineyards in Spain

For those of you new to the topic, agrivoltaics takes advantage of the shady microclimate created by solar panels, to maintain the ground below for agricultural use. Initial projects mainly involved growing pollinator habitats and grasslands for grazing livestock.

More recently, the field has branched out into food crops, fruit trees and related endeavors, such as growing grapes for wine.

Iberdrola is not the first to mix solar panels with vineyards, but it could be the first company in Spain to deploy remote sensors to track the impact of the solar panels on growing conditions within the array. At least, that’s what Iberdrola says.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Farmers carefully position solar panels to provide shade, thereby doing away with the need for netting and the expensive labor to deploy it.

Throwing shade is solar energy’s new superpower

In rural America, the shoulder-high corn is increasingly competing with a new cash crop: solar power. Acres of solar panels shine brightly in fields along interstates and rural byways, signaling a change in how America’s farming country generates income. The need for a happy marriage between these old and new industries has inspired a burst of innovation and a new word to describe the combination: Agrivoltaics.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes billions of dollars in renewable energy funds that will accelerate the adoption of solar and other renewables. Some of the new solar panels will land on rooftops, but most will be concentrated in large utility-scale arrays that the US Department of Energy claims could eventually cover an area roughly equivalent in size to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

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Source: The Washington Post

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Growing crops beneath solar panels is an innovative way to use farmland to generate renewable energy in countries with limited space.

Electric farms are using solar power to grow profits and crops

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In many respects, Takeshi Magami’s farm is like any other in Japan, growing everything from potatoes to ginger and eggplants. But one major difference sets it apart from its neighbors: the 2,826 solar panels perched above the crops.

The panels, covering much of the one hectare (2.5 acres) of land in the tranquil countryside east of Tokyo, serve a dual purpose. They supply nearly all the power needed to run the farm, and are a source of extra income by selling surplus renewable energy to the grid.

For Magami that can mean 24 million yen ($187,000) of additional revenue a year, eight times more than the maximum 3 million yen generated from his produce. While he benefits from generous tariffs that have since been reduced, it’s an indication of the added value available to farms in Japan and globally.

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Source: Bloomberg

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