“Unprecedented” is a word we’ve all been hearing a lot these days. Societies around the world are facing mounting challenges—like less food, water, and energy due to rising temperatures and growing populations. For many, the word itself has started to feel a little, well, menacing.
But unprecedented can also be used to describe the speed and promise of innovative solutions advancing every single day in response. Researchers, green energy leaders, and farmers across the globe are joining forces to eliminate the zero-sum competition between water, food, and energy. Their goal is to create a more symbiotic, sustainable relationship between these life-sustaining necessities.
One question they’re asking:
Can a single piece of land be used to grow food and produce electricity—all while using less water than traditional methods?
Thanks to Agrivoltaics, the answer appears to be yes!
What is Agrivoltaics?
Agrivoltaics (also referred to as APV or agroPV) describes the practice of co-developing land for both solar power energy production and agriculture use.
The idea was first introduced in 1981 by German researcher Adolf Goetzberger. He suggested that farmers increase the height of solar panel structures by at least two meters and space them farther apart. This would allow the land beneath the panels to be used to raise crops (ensuring that the plants received the sunlight required to grow) while the solar panels above produced clean electricity.
Why is Agrivoltaics important?
Goetzberger’s ideas didn’t really take off. For decades, the majority of solar parks in rural areas were built close to the ground, forcing a choice to be made between using the land for energy or food production.
Which is the better use of land resources? Well, with a snowballing population on track to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050, feeding all these people will be an imperative. We’ll need to increase food production by almost 50% to do so. But today’s agriculture already requires a huge amount of resources: 85% of global water consumption is used for irrigation, and over one-third of all greenhouse gases are attributed to agricultural production.
The status quo is unsustainable:
Growing food requires energy. Producing energy threatens food. And the longer we do nothing, the less water we have for either.
Agrivoltaics promises to improve food production and reduce water consumption—all while boosting farm revenue and producing clean, reliable energy for generations to come.
How does Agrivoltaics work?
In Agrivoltaic systems, solar panels are installed high above the garden bed to give crops the space they need to grow and allow farm machinery to pass through. What’s so special about Agrivoltaics is that it allows for simultaneous, optimized production of energy and agriculture with only a 3-10% loss of arable land surface.
Instead of fixed solar panels, many APV panels are mounted on a tilt with actuators that allow the panels to move in one or two directions. This means that the angles of the panels can be adjusted according to sunlight availability and crop requirements to ensure optimum energy capture and plant growth.
You might be thinking that shade and plant growth are at odds with one another. But actually, plants can only take in so much sunlight before they start to “sweat” it out. This is called the light saturation point. Once it’s reached, sunlight no longer contributes to photosynthesis—it only increases the plant’s demand for water. The same is true for the land: too much sun results in water lost to evaporation.
This makes APV systems ideal for arid or semi-arid areas, where the shade provided by solar panels can help preserve water and energy, boost crop health, and increase a farm’s overall revenue. That’s because APV systems ensure plants receive only the ideal amount of sunlight and that any excess sunlight is harvested for electricity.
And here’s where it gets really interesting:
Planting crops under solar panels actually helps the panels produce more energy. Solar PV panels are sensitive to temperature. The hotter it gets, the less energy they produce. Plants help keep the solar panels cool thanks to their nearly constant transpiration, which can increase energy production by nearly 10% according to a study performed by the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.
What are the pros and cons of Agrivoltaics?
As with any emerging technology, there are challenges and opportunities to its adoption. We’ve outlined some of the pros and cons of Agrivoltaics for you below to help you arrive at your own conclusion.
Pros
1.) Contributes to climate change resilience for food systems
As climate change leads to higher temperatures, increased risks of drought, and more radiation stress for crops, APV may help improve crop yields while producing clean, sustainable energy.
2.) Minimizes competition for limited land resources
Rather than having to choose a single use for a piece of land, Agrivoltaics allows us to grow food and produce electricity sustainably at the same time in the same place.
3.) Increases farm revenue
Farms implementing APV systems and growing shade-tolerant crops may experience up to a 30% increase in overall revenue. This is especially beneficial for family farms, which are currently facing increasing economic challenges: A 23% increase in bankruptcy filings was recorded in the past year.
4.) Reduces food and water scarcity issues
Agrivoltaics is a symbiotic system in which both solar panels and crops benefit. They increase the output of the other while reducing the amount of resources required for production.
Electricity from the panels can be used to power farm equipment and technology that further reduces water waste. The surplus energy produced by the panels can be stored in batteries or added to the grid for consumer use.
Cons
1.) Requires massive upfront investments
Agrivoltaics requires a large upfront investment to cover things like mounting the solar panels, modifying farm machinery, and establishing the necessary electrical infrastructure. While Agrivoltaics is not economically viable for all countries, researchers at the University of Oregon found that 20% of the US’ total electricity generation can be met with Agrivoltaic systems if less than 1% of the annual US budget is invested into rural infrastructure.
2.) Can’t be used with all types of crops
AV systems are best suited for low-light resistant crops, also known as shade crops. For many plant species, though, low light intensity is not an issue after the juvenile phase.
3.) Less efficient than a conventional solar PV system
The overall energy production of an APV system is less than that of a conventional PV system. This is because the panels are spaced farther apart to allow for sunlight and farm machinery to reach the crops below, which reduces the amount of surface area available for energy production.
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What’s your take on APV? For additional resources, check out the following links or reach out to us! We’re always keen to chat about green energy developments.
Benefits of Agrivoltaics Across the Food-Energy-Water Nexus
Towards photovoltaic systems that can reconcile the production of crops and electricity
Integrated Photovoltaics – Areas for the Energy Transformation
