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Recently the International Energy Agency She said solar parks were among the cheapest sources of electricity. Solar was called “the new king of electricity”. But there has always been one aspect of solar that, unlike costs, cannot really change: the need for land. Solar farms need a lot of land and critics have used this as an argument against the future expansion of this form of renewable energy generation. Proponents, however, have found ways not only to solve this problem, but also to do so with benefits for another industry.
Agrivoltaics refers to the dual use of agricultural land for solar power generation and agriculture. A megawatt solar installation requires 4 to 5 acres of land, depending on the panels used. But you can’t just build a solar farm on four or five acres of land anywhere. For optimal efficiency, these panels need optimal positions. It so happens that these places are usually on arable land. And those experimenting with the combination of solar and agriculture are reporting rather encouraging results.
For one thing, agricultural land is good for solar panels. A she studies from Oregon State University last year, for example, found that when installed on farmland, solar panels were much more efficient: “Solar panels are just like people and the climate, they are happier when it’s cool. breezy and dry, ”said one of the study’s authors, associate professor Chad Higgins.
But the combination of solar and agriculture is also useful for agriculture. Plants that grow in the shade of solar panels need less water, which means growing them becomes cheaper, Higgins told Oil. And while the idea of growing plants in the shade of solar panels may seem suboptimal for plants, Higgins notes that “Plants will not use light beyond their light saturation point, which, for many crops, is below the available sunlight. Crops with the lowest light saturation points are already grown in shady conditions (coffee, some small fruits, medicinal herbs, green leafy vegetables, etc.) “.
Related: Can Ecuador Save Its Ailing Oil Sector? And that’s not all. The shade from the solar panels actually protects the plants that grow beneath them during the hottest hours of the day, says Marcus Krembs, Head of Sustainability at Enel North America. He adds that early agricultural research suggests that solar panels in warmer areas may even increase the yield of some crops.
As for some regular agricultural activities, such as harvesting, for example, or plowing, these are also possible with solar panels simply mounted higher, explains Dan Orzech, general manager of the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative. Taller panels, however, would be more expensive, Orzech notes, but there is another alternative: lay out the thinner panels so you can use farm equipment where it’s needed.
Solar panels can also have beneficial effects on animal farms. As they increase water retention in the soil, they can stimulate more abundant vegetation for grazing sheep and other farm animals. This has the winning nature of keeping sheep fed while eliminating the need to mechanically cut grass, explains Orzech of the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative.
According to Krembs of Enel Green Power, solar parks can also stimulate the growth of the population of bees and other pollinators.
“Creating shared value through arable solar sites not only preserves the land, but also takes proactive site preparation measures, including planting beneficial vegetation, often friendly to bees and other pollinating insects, while providing habitat for autochthonous species that require less intensive maintenance and mowing, “he said, citing the results of Enel Green Power’s partnership with the National Laboratory for Renewable Energy.
“Sheep thrive on solar farms, and it’s a natural combination,” says Dr. Gavin Harper of the University of Birmingham, author of “Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius” and “Domestic Solar Energy”. “They munch on the grass and vegetation around the farms, keeping it low and preventing shade. Meanwhile, the panels provide shade and cover for the sheep in hot, inclement weather.”
At first glance, solar energy and agriculture appear to be mutually exclusive. However, upon closer inspection, they appear to be mutually beneficial in more ways than one. As Krembs of Enel Green Power observes, solar parks on non-agricultural land also have beneficial effects on that land. When built on agricultural land, the benefits of the combination only seem to increase.
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This is largely due to the flexibility of solar panel technology. As OSU’s Higgins explains, to make room for tractors and harvesters in the fields, you can raise the panels or tilt them, so they stay away from the equipment. Interestingly, agriculture can also drive innovation in machinery.
“In the long run, I think there will be a co-evolution of next generation farm equipment and photovoltaic racking solutions,” Higgins told Oilprice. “Yep, companies like Rippa and John Deere (among others) have prototype electric driverless tractors. These low-profile systems hold huge promise for use in agrivoltaic systems.”
This coevolution could also extend to plants. Since agricultural land is best for solar farms, we may see more and more agrivoltaic projects in the future. This would guide efforts to optimize the implant component of the combination so as to maximize benefits and minimize disadvantages.
By Irina Slav for Oil “
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