Agrivoltaics come of age

Agrivoltaics — where solar energy and food is produced on the same tract of land — have graduated from small-scale pilot projects to mega installations involving an increasingly wide array of crops and livestock.

Why it matters: Traditional, ground-mounted solar installations sometimes compete with agriculture for scarce land resources. The agrivoltaics model, which utilises raised panels and is otherwise known as agri-PV, addresses this problem and offers farmers new ways to generate revenue, boost yields of shade-loving crops, and harvest water.

It’s an approach that can nearly double the efficiency of land use, according to a new report by research group Ember. One hectare of fruits and berries under solar panels can achieve a 16% higher yield than a traditional plantation while also generating nearly two-thirds as much electricity as a conventional solar farm, the think tank says.

The latest: Some seriously big agri-PV projects are now in the works.

Regulators in the US state of Ohio recently approved a project that’ll include 800 megawatts (MW) of solar generation capacity, 300MW of battery storage, 2,000 acres of solar panel-covered crops, and 1,000 sheep.

In France, authorities have approved a 450MW agrivoltaics facility, backed by 35 farmers, that’ll produce crops for livestock farms.

“For us, this authorisation represents the recognition of a meaningful solution for the future, combining innovation, sustainability… and a shift to zero-phyto, or organic, production methods,” says Jean-Michel Lamothe, president of PATAV, the farmers’ association behind the project.

At a smaller French facility developed by TSE, farm manager Benoît Bougler is seeking to shield his wheat, bean and potato crops from the impacts of climate change.

“The plants have particularly suffered from thermal and water stress in recent years, with high thermal amplitudes and especially long periods without water which have impacted plant growth and yields, especially for wheat and potatoes,” Bougler says. His new raised solar array, which integrates a sprinkler system, “is one of the possible answers.”

In early September, the Italian government held its first agrivoltaics auction. The procurement round, which included generous state support, received bids totalling 1.7GW, against a target of 1GW. An early pioneer in the country, Italian winemaker Svolta Srl, says an agrivoltaic facility at one of its vineyards has improved the quality of its grapes, reduced water use, and allowed for the cultivation of vines that aren’t normally viable in the region.

In South Africa, state-owned power utility Eskom plans to install up to 150MW of agrivoltaics as part of a coal plant repurposing project.

Meanwhile, livestock farmers are increasingly adding solar systems onto their grazing lands.

The 33MW Kohirā solar farm in northern New Zealand, for instance, provides shading for sheep. The model “is crucial in markets like New Zealand with large agricultural industries coupled with increasingly scarce land resources,” says the project’s co-developer, Trina Solar.

A 600MW project with a similar design is being constructed in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Meanwhile, a number of innovative new applications are emerging.

In Poland, renewable energy developer Green Capital harvests honey from a beekeeping facility it set up alongside one of its solar plants, while on South Africa’s west coast, 2.4MW of solar panels double as shading for abalone tanks.

French renewables company Unite is constructing 10 solar-integrated aviaries for poultry farms, with a cumulative generating capacity of 127MW.

Elsewhere, the city of Detroit is planning an urban agrivoltaics plant. The developer behind it, Lightstar, says the project likely be well suited to lettuce, kale, carrots, and berries.

Win-win: Ember’s report, focused on Central Europe, found that Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia could deploy a total of 180 GW of agri-PV, almost tripling the region’s annual renewable electricity production.

“Far from reducing food production, agri-PV actually increases yields for some crops,” says Ember analyst Paweł Czyżak. “Agri-PV combines the best of both worlds — electricity and food production, preserving precious land for agriculture, yet still enabling the energy transition to move forward, benefitting societies and economies.”