French consortium wants to mobilize €1 billion for agrivoltaic projects
Sun’Agri and RGreen Invest have launched an initiative aimed at deploying around 300 agrivoltaic projects in France by 2025.
The weekend read: The ground beneath
A number of drivers are highlighting the importance of vegetation management in utility-scale solar projects, from coupling with agriculture to the significance of pollinators, as well as the related permitting and O&M benefits. Tom Karas of Minnesota Native Landscapes sets out why awareness of comprehensive vegetation management is of growing importance in the solar sector.
Austrian agrivoltaic project includes sheep farming
Maxsolar is building a ground-mounted, 11.5 MW solar plant near Wien where 150 Jura will graze.
Agrivoltaics for pear orchards
Belgian researchers are testing agrivoltaic power generation in a pear orchard. The first pilot project features specially designed 185 W solar panels with transparent backsheets, conventional silicon cells, and a 21% efficiency rate.
Thin-film agrivoltaic solar tubes
German tech company Tube Solar AG has secured €10.8 million to develop its cylindrical agrivoltaic modules. The lightweight devices could also be used on roofs until now considered unsuitable for PV.
Photovoltaic shade for greenhouses
French start-up Solar Cloth has secured a patent for a PV shade screen for solar greenhouses.
Thin-film amorphous silicon greenhouses begin to sprout
Researchers have matched the tinting of semi-transparent PV modules with the bandwidth of light that plants absorb for photosynthesis. A promising trial with basil and spinach has opened up economic opportunities for farmers.
CPV panels for agrivoltaics
Swiss startup Insolight has raised €4.6 million to bring its concentrating PV module technology to commercial production. The panels have a claimed efficiency of 30% and power output of 160 W. Originally conceived for rootop solar, the product is now being recommended as an interesting option for agrivoltaic projects.
Special solar panels for agrivoltaics
BayWa r.e. and GroenLeven have designed special monocrytalline solar panels for five pilot agrivoltaic projects they are deploying in the Netherlands. They are testing weather-resistant 260 W glass-glass panels with different transparency levels.
Native shrubs and solar panels working in tandem in South Australia
State utility SA Water is partnering with an environmental organization to ‘re-vegetate’ almost a ton of native seedlings under a large scale solar arrays. Beneath the ground-mounted PV projects, native vegetation should return to the formerly agricultural land, and the resulting scrub is expected to protect panels from soiling.
