Mexican graduates develop agrivoltaic system with rainwater harvesting, smart irrigation

A team of recent graduates from the School of Engineering and Sciences at the Monterrey Institute of Technology have developed a novel agrivoltaic proposal.

Known as SolarRoot, their system combines photovoltaic modules installed above the crops with rainwater harvesting and an underground drip irrigation network. Soil moisture sensors determine when irrigation is necessary and allow only the required volume of water to be supplied to the plants.

The proposal also seeks to utilize the shade cast by solar panels to reduce heat stress on crops and minimize water loss. According to its developers, the goal of SolarRoot is to produce electricity and food without dedicating separate areas to each activity.

The institute has not disclosed the planned photovoltaic power output, the type or number of modules, the required surface area, the crops that would be used, or the amount of water that could be recovered. The project remains a engineering proposal under evaluation, with any planned construction of a pilot project yet to be announced.

SolarRoot won first place in an international competition, Invent for the Planet, promoted by the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. The competition involves 48-hour workshops in which university teams develop solutions to challenges related to energy, the environment, resource equity, and social development.

The project will now represent the graduates’ Mexico City campus in the next stage of the competition. Projects that pass that stage will advance to the final phase of the competition, scheduled to take place in Qatar.