solar and agriculture

Indian researchers have compared the performance of an agrivoltaic system to monofacial and bifacial rooftop PV systems, and have found that the agrivoltaics setup had a shorter payback time and lower levelized cost of energy. Their analysis of performance considered panel temperature, power output, land equivalent ratio, and reliability.

French developer Solveo Energies has developed a 247 kW agrivoltaic facility spread across 3,500 m2. The system features trackers controlled by the Cultiveo Dynamique algorithm, to protect an apricot farm in Pyrénées-Orientales, France.

IEA PVPS is about to start a new format for expert engagement: an Action Group on Agrovoltaics; a collaborative effort to harness the synergy between agriculture and solar energy generation. Through international cooperation and interdisciplinary engagement, the group aims to unlock the potential of agrivoltaics, optimizing land use efficiency, enhancing agricultural resilience to climate change, and fostering social consensus towards solar energy development.

Under Czechia’s new rules for agrivoltaics, farmers and developers will not need approval to change land designations and zoning plans for agricultural areas devoted to PV generation. The provisions currently only allow agrivoltaics to be deployed in orchards and vineyards.

Italian scientific institutions have published new regulatory practices for agrivoltaics, with a specific focus on electricity production, agricultural output, and landscape preservation.

Scientists from India conceived a new system for crop growth in remote areas with no connection to the power grid. It consists of a PV panel, add-on module hardware (AOMH), a battery, step-down DC-DC converters, system power devices, automation, and sensor elements. For climate control, it also comprises a water pump, a ventilation fan for CO2 assimilation, sprinkler foggers, and drop irrigation solenoids.

SolarPower Europe’s new guidelines for agrivoltaics are designed to support project developers, scientific institutions, and policymakers in developing agrivoltaic schemes. The PV trade body presents business cases from different European countries and shares best practices for O&M and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).

Dan French, executive producer of the Solar Farm Summit, told pv magazine USA that more than 500 farmers, manufacturers, and community solar developers likely attended the first US agrivoltaics conference in Chicago last week.

French developer Valeco has deployed an agrivoltaic installation on a fodder field and has found out it offers benefits for the quality and quantity of the crop, as well as for sheep grazing under the solar panels.

French specialist Sun’Agri unveiled the agronomic results on a crop of eggplant grown in a greenhouse commissioned in the Lot-et-Garonne in September, 2020.