Agrovoltaics mainly consists of combining agricultural production and renewable energy generation, i.e. solar panels coexisting with crops on the same surface. This innovative approach aims to create value both in the territory and in the local communities where it operates.
HOW CAN AGROVOLTAICS BE HARNESSED? WHAT ARE THE MANY BENEFITS OF AGROVOLTAICS?
Agrovoltaics corresponds to the use of the resources generated by the generation of photovoltaic energy for agricultural development.
Thanks to the solar panels, the soil on which they are installed is kept more humid and protected from direct sunlight, thus providing a cooler and more prolific environment for the development of plants. With this combination, both parties benefit from the use of each other’s resources.
For this practice, fixed support systems are used to raise the solar panels about five metres above the crop field. This allows farm machinery access to the crops below. On the other hand, there are installations that have tracking systems, which allow the panels to be oriented to maximise their efficiency and prevent them from always casting shade in the same place, thus adapting to the needs of the plants.
Spain is an ideal country for the implementation of these actions. The incident light in Spain can more than meet the national energy demand. This is why installing solar panels on crop fields in Spain is money well invested, as long as we check the amount of solar radiation that our land receives. The high amount of solar energy that Spain receives and its potential as a cultivation area, is the result of a perfect niche for this new form of agriculture.
Agrovoltaics has many benefits, as we have already seen. What are some of them?
– Maximising solar energy: Cropland, grasslands and wetlands are the three main land covers where there is the greatest potential for solar PV production.
– Higher yield of the solar installation: having crops under the PV panels reduces the temperature of the panels, while avoiding a decrease in yield.
– No creation of waste: neither acoustic nor physical. In this way it reduces any negative impact on the natural environment and does not create any waste for the development of agriculture and livestock, giving freedom to this type of resources.
– It reduces the use of water: Plants have what could be called a light saturation point. Therefore, thanks to the shadows generated by the solar panels, they help to prevent the plants from having a greater demand for water. Water savings are increased thanks to the shade cast by the solar panels, preventing faster evaporation and retaining more water in the soil.
As we can see, the uses and utilities of photovoltaic solar energy continue to expand, and agrovoltaics is undoubtedly a new innovation that contributes to thinking about solar energy in a broader way.