From pv magazine France
BayWa re has started building a fleet of semi-transparent modules to be mounted on a fruit farm in Brumath, France.
The Munich-based renewable energy producer said in a press release this week that the project will be the first to feature its semi-transparent panels in France.
The company said it aims to install 1,440 semi-transparent PV modules across 4,900 square meters of strawberry farmland. The modules will be installed above the farm's produce and will replace the current protective plastic sheets. The new system allows 49% of light to pass through.
Popular content
BayWa re said the plant will produce the equivalent of 464 MWh per year. After it is commissioned in the first quarter of 2024, it will be connected to Strasbourg Électricité Réseaux. The electricity will be sold on the spot market or through power purchase agreements.
The site owners have grown produce in the region since 1978, but they are now seeing the effects of climate change. Agrovoltaic shades provide favorable conditions for crops, limiting excess heat, the site owners said. They also noted that the sheets improve working conditions by creating a cooler environment compared to working under plastic tunnels. Their goal is to reduce irrigation by 25%.
A plastic tunneling control plot will be used to collect accurate data on fruit production. The data will include fruit size, taste, sugar level, yields and water requirements. Sensors under the panels will measure temperature, light incidence (PAR) and humidity, among other indicators.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
2 comments
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.