Can Agriculture & Solar Energy Work Together?

Agrophotovoltaic is a new way of using solar technology with traditional farming

FREMONT, CA: Solar farm is a field filled with Several solar panels oriented into the sun. In place of vegetables planted in the soil, solar panels cover that land while energy is produced.

Traditional farming is a relatively risky business because one is very much dependent upon the weather conditions. Suppose there is enough sun, rain, no extreme storms, strong winds, etc.

Thus, not worrying about all these environmental factors and still getting income is uplifting and a bit too good to be true. Hence, next to power generation, solar farms found another niche – agrivoltaics (APV). It is an amazing idea for an environmentally conscious world, agribusiness, and society.

Still, it mightn’t have happened if traditional farming wouldn’t been failing.

Since 2010, when the expense of installing solar systems has fallen more than half, solar farming has started to bloom.

Look at the results: the more solar farming, the less food is grown. And that makes sociologists and economists worried. So, on the one hand, we have renewable energy produced. But, on the other hand, if a field is given to PV technology, less food is grown, impacting society and nature’s ecosystems.

Agrivoltaic can improve global land productivity by 35-73%!

Agrivoltaic – farming future!

A team of French scientists led by Christophe Dupraz was the first to use the term agrivoltaic. Solar panels and food crops are joined on the same land to maximize land use. It’s an idea that could bring food-producing to the next level. Their research indicated that agrivoltaic systems might be very efficient: the increase in global land productivity can be from 35 to 73%!

If they mount the panels high enough, crops receive almost the same amount of sunlight as they grow naturally. This also helps as the proper farming technique could be used.

Farming and PV could be compatible. It also reduces competition for land and works efficiently while providing additional income for farmers.

The last point is worth extra emphasis. The main cause why farmers move to solar farming is assured financial gain and a stress-free lifestyle.

With the booming solar industry and applications it’s using – agrovoltaics is one of them. Let alone incredibly greater land efficiency with solar modules placed on growing crops. The greenhouse farming industry has its way-to-go solution: solar skylight glass. With partial light transmittance accomplished by differentiating solar cell arrangement and placement, shading can be achieved, and energy demand can be reduced drastically in agrivoltaics greenhouses.

Hence, agrophotovoltaic is a new way of using solar technology with traditional farming. But, of course, it still requires some discussions, testing, and further development. Still, today it is obvious that such a method – solar farming in its true sense – has big viewpoints to advantage society and business more than ever.