Osma A 🇫🇮🇺🇦No need to clear new land for solar power. Panels can coexist with agriculture, and even help it since many crops thrive in partial shade and/or benefit from water retention under the panels.
“Maize is grown by about 50% of farmers in Tanzania. Maize is also a sun loving plant. So the fact that we had an 11% yield increase in maize [under solar panel arrays] is a phenomenal result,” he said.
#solar #renewables #agriculture https://apnews.com/article/climate-beer-solar-panels-hops-germany-ee3d00a1877837eb85053335e3b68a00
Hops for beer flourish under solar panels. They're not the only crop thriving in the shade.
A farm in Bavaria is covering its hops with solar panels, providing electricity to 250 households and shading the plants from the increasingly scorching summer heat in the process. Solar panels atop crops has been gaining traction in recent years. As incentives and demand for clean energy skyrocket, researchers look into making the best use of the land, and farmers seek ways to shield their crops from blistering heat. The team in Germany says its effort is the first agrivoltaic project that’s solely focused on hops, but projects have sprouted around the world in several countries for a variety of different grains, fruits and vegetables.
Paul Shread