At the intersection of solar energy and agriculture lies an emerging opportunity: innovative agrovoltaics.
The concept of innovative agrovoltaics, currently being pioneered at a project in Vermont, co-locates crops and renewable energy infrastructure on the same plots of land.
A collaboration between the Vermont-based solar developer iSun and agricultural technology startup Next2Sun is examining how solar panels can boost farm output when combined. Their setup offers a glimpse into the sustainable future of joint clean energy and food production.
Agrovoltaics seeks to build a symbiotic relationship between solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and agricultural crop cultivation by co-locating them on shared plots of land. This integrated approach provides mutual benefits for both solar infrastructure and farm operations, allowing for optimized land usage.
Agrovoltaics contrasts sharply with traditional large solar farms that dedicate massive tracts of rural land exclusively to utility-scale energy generation. Those solar arrays stretch over hundreds of acres that were often previously used for growing crops or grazing livestock. This means that traditional solar farms are at odds with traditional farms because they displace agricultural operations and prevent concurrent plant harvesting onsite.
Taking a different approach, agrovoltaics blends solar infrastructure directly with crops in a synergistic scheme. Careful spacing and orientation of the vertical or tilted PV panels accommodate continued planting and tilling below while providing partial shade and cooler soil temperatures. These “solar sharing” arrangements with crops have shown promising agricultural yield and quality boosts in early trials.
Many crops can benefit from the partial shade and cooler temperatures provided by solar agriculture:
- Leafy greens: Lettuce, spinach, kale, and other leafy greens often thrive in the partial shade provided by solar panels.
- Root crops: Potatoes, carrots, beets, and radishes are also well-suited to agrovoltaic systems, as they benefit from cooler temperatures and consistent moisture.
- Herbs and medicinal plants: Many herbs and medicinal plants, such as ginseng and lavender, prefer partial shade and can be successfully cultivated under solar panels.
- Low-growing crops: Peas, beans, and other low-growing crops can be planted in the spaces between the rows of solar panels, maximizing land use.
Sharing the same physical land areas by solar and agriculture unlocks combined environmental and food production value that is not achievable by either domain alone. It’s a revolutionary shift from solar competing against farms for acreage to integrating greener energy aspirations with America’s vibrant breadbasket bounty.
With agrovoltaics, crops flourish underneath and between bifacial solar panels tilted vertically to maximize sunlight exposure. The partial shade and lowered soil temperatures boost yields for heat-sensitive crops while the panels convert sunlight into emissions-free electricity.
Through innovative panel arrangement, iSun configures arrays to accommodate underlying farm equipment movement and minimize impediments to essential farming activities like planting, irrigation, weeding, and harvesting. The partial sunlight beneath the panels proves ideal for shade-loving crops like lettuce, kale, and herb and spice varieties in Next2Sun’s initial trials. Early tests reveal up to a 270% jump in yields for produce grown synergetically with the tilted solar panels compared to control plots with no PV coverage overhead.
Beyond boosting crop outputs, the panel cladding also reduces weed growth, limiting the need for herbicide application. The canopy effect further conserves soil moisture while decreasing erosion. In addition, the shade equates to a cooler microclimate, improving solar cell performance for better energy conversion efficiency. It’s a multidimensional win.
With previous demonstrations showing higher yields when paired with fixed-tilt solar panels, the University of Vermont’s new research deploys vertical bifacial panels for expanded agricultural compatibility underneath. This real-world study will gather three years of data on crop productivity and solar generation viability before scaling the concept more widely.
Early evidence and appraisals highlight the promise of agrovoltaics in harmonizing land usage for concurrent food and sustainable power output. Wider adoption of such symbiotic solar integration could deliver higher overall yields per acre while accelerating America’s transition to cleaner energy. It’s an encouraging example of human innovation balancing agricultural and sustainability ambitions through smart design.
