New study reveals unexpected benefit of solar farms — here’s what it could mean for farmers
"The study involved seeding the land underneath the solar panels with 66 different species of native plants and flowers.
They found that after five years, populations of native #bees had risen to 20 times their initial levels."
#agrivoltaics
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/habitat-friendly-solar-energy-insect-population-boost/
A study in the UK found very large biodiversity at solar parks with vegetation:
"Overall, they observed 1,397 pollinators across at least 30 species."
"According to the study, solar parks were especially beneficial to pollinators in areas with disconnected landscapes. The authors noted that this could be because areas with well-connected landscapes rich in hedgerows and trees could be more attractive to pollinators because they offer a wider range of resources. "
https://www.ecowatch.com/solar-parks-pollinator-habitats-vegetation-uk.html
There's 107 square km of desertified land in #Binhe region, Ningxia province, China. Baofeng, a "new energy" company, became its manager.
First they planted alfalfa. Then they planted #solar, soon to be 1GW of it, and it's tall solar, 3m off the ground. Underneath that they planted goji berries.
Now, small wild animals like sparrows, hares and pheasants have come back. Land moisture evaporation is down by between 30 and 40%. #Agrivoltaics is a win-win proposition.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/03/giant-agrivoltaic-project-in-china/
The Baofeng Group is building a 1 GW solar park which is hosting a goji berry plantation in the Binhe New District on the eastern banks of the Yellow River in the Ningxia Province. Around 640 MW have so far been grid-connected. Huawei is providing the inverters for the project.
"The #solar panels can also assume an almost vertical position when farm equipment needs to past by. Farmers who host the array would not have to invest in specialized equipment to continue farming.
Solar developers have been encountering a wave of opposition to rural solar arrays. However, the #agrivoltaics trend has taken some of the steam out of the argument against using farmland to generate electricity."
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/25/the-unstoppable-force-of-agrivoltaics-now-with-tiltable-solar-panels/
#SolarFarms
"The emerging field of #agrivoltaics has come a long way in just a few years. From a focus on pollinator habitats and grazing lands, agrivoltaic stakeholders are expanding their ambitions to raise peaches, grapes, and other crops within arrays of ground-mounted solar panels."
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/07/11/peaches-grapes-the-agrivoltaic-farm-of-the-future/
"By using #solar panels, farmers can simultaneously protect their plants, save #water and lower their energy bills.
Some plants actually produced more with less water. Cowpea beans, for example – also known as black-eyed peas – had a higher crop yield when grown in the shade of solar panels. Full sun required twice as much water, it turned out."
https://azmirror.com/briefs/arizona-farmers-turn-to-solar-panels-to-shade-crops-save-water-and-generate-power/
#agrivoltaics #SolarFarming
For 31 straight days last summer, temperatures in Phoenix hit or topped 110 degrees, the longest such streak ever. That searing Arizona heat dehydrates crops and evaporates water the state needs to conserve
"In France, a landowner could make between 10 and 100 times more money per hectare renting out their land to an energy company than they’d make from conventional farming. This puts the future of agricultural land at risk."
The land does have to feed people, so rules need to be designed around the PV coverage of the land, the yield of crops, and keeping the solution inexpensive enough to make it worthwhile.
Thanks to @richardknott for this link:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00518-6
It's a learning curve.
The Killer Combo Of Agrivoltaics & Community Solar Is Coming For Your Fossil Fuels
"Livestock grazing and pollinator habitats have dominated the #agrivoltaic field to date. Researchers are also compiling a knowledge base that enables agrivoltaic arrays to expand into #FoodCrops for humans (see more solar-plus-farming background here).
Meanwhile, the #CommunitySolar movement has also been taking a ride-along with the falling cost of solar energy."
Solar panels and crops could meet 68% of central #Europe’s energy demand
"Combining farming with green energy production could also increase #FoodSecurity and generate additional income for farmers, according to a new study."
The analysis suggests that installing solar panels could improve #water retention in dry years and protect crops from extreme weather - in some cases actually increasing yields."
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/08/29/solar-panels-and-crops-could-meet-68-of-central-europes-energy-demand
#agrivoltaics
"In Poland, a case study considering agri-PV and wheat concludes that revenues per hectare can be twelve times higher than those from wheat crops alone, Ember said, with a potential annual profit of €1268 per hectare from the combined electricity and wheat sales — a stark contrast with traditional wheat production that is estimated to be generating net losses in 2024."
Even a fraction of that kind of yield would already be exciting.
Agrivoltaics can increase grape yield by up to 60%
French #agrivoltaics company Sun’Agri says that two of its facilities increased #grape yields by 20% to 60% in 2024, compared to areas without solar panels. The PV modules helped regulate temperature fluctuations, reducing summer heat peaks and winter temperature declines."
Also reduces irrigation needs by 20% to 70%.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/11/29/agrivoltaics-can-increase-grape-yield-by-up-to-60/
Thanks to @Jourei for the link:
https://mastodon.social/@[email protected]/113582365145045502
French agrivoltaics company Sun'Agri says that two of its facilities increased grape yields by 20% to 60% in 2024, compared to areas without solar panels. The PV modules helped regulate temperature fluctuations, reducing summer heat peaks and winter temperature declines.
"In October the #NewJersey Board of Public Utilities announced the launch of the new Dual-Use #Agrivoltaics Pilot Program,... aiming at a total of up to 200 megawatts over the next three years.
Research from participating farms in the Dual-Use Program will support a permanent program, complete with construction and operation standards that will help accelerate more widespread adoption. Rutgers University's Agrivoltaic Program is charged with administering the program."
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/12/02/small-us-state-launches-game-changing-agrivoltaic-project/
Electricity from the cow pasture: How a farmer uses agri-PV twice
"The Ohlstadt solar park is the first agri-PV project in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district. The plant supplies green electricity on almost three hectares. A herd of dairy cattle grazes under the modules, creating a win-win situation."
https://www.wochenblatt-dlv.de/feld-stall/energie/strom-kuhweide-landwirt-agri-pv-doppelt-nutzt-579154
#agrivoltaics
Double sided PV comes in handy after snowfall.
#Agrivoltaics for Canada, now with the added benefit of tariff-free homegrown mutton.
"This is a potential missed opportunity for #Canada considering the pricey importation of over $250 million in mutton and lamb annually, per the researchers.
Pearce further noted that clean energy leader Texas has tripled its sheep population as "Canada has fallen behind." "
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/agriculture-solar-panels-canada-sheep/
#CleanEnergy and #biodiversity
Simple habitat: intensively managed, grazed by sheep.
Mixed habitat solar farms: hedgerows around the edges, no sheep grazing or grass cutting, greater diversity of flowering plants.
"The highest abundance of threatened bird species (such s Corn Bunting, Greenfinch, Yellowhammer and Linnet) was in mixed habitat solar and was significantly higher than in both surrounding arable land and in the simple habitat solar sites."
"What’s more, our previous research has shown that the UK has enough land to deploy 90 GW of solar power – enough to meet suggested capacity by 2050 – without damaging bird populations at a national scale or affecting food production."
"“The sheep thrive. They absolutely love the panels during the summer – everywhere they go there’s shade. There’s constantly green food underneath them.”
The microclimate under the panels also retains moisture longer, giving grass a better chance to establish and persist through dry spells.
But Inder says he doesn’t just have happy sheep, the quality of the wool and the wool yield has improved."
https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-sheep-farmer-who-turned-a-1800-call-to-coal-giant-agl-into-a-major-solar-grazing-deal/
#agrivoltaics
"The centre, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary next month, champions projects aimed at reviving wildflower-rich meadows, 97% of which have been lost in the past 80 years.
But Juliet Rose, the head of development at the Eden Project, where the NWC is based, said changing weather patterns due to the climate emergency were making it harder to find a slot to sow wildflower seed."
Solar PV farms to the rescue?
PV sheep
"The panels act as windbreaks to reduce dust and sand and slow soil evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold.
Wang Anwei, the energy administration chief of Hainan Prefecture, called it a “win-win” situation on multiple levels.
“In terms of production, enterprises generate electricity on the top level, and in terms of ecology, grass grows at the bottom under the solar panels, and villagers can herd sheep in between,” he said."
https://reneweconomy.com.au/china-races-to-build-worlds-largest-solar-farm-complete-with-photovoltaic-sheep/
#agrivoltaics
Vitivoltaics
""VitiVoltaic" projects aim to make viticulture fit for climate change. The term is a portmanteau of the Latin genus name for the grapevine, vitis vinifera, and the word for solar power generation, photovoltaics. This new technology makes it possible to harvest two very different things on two levels: Electricity above and wine grapes below. Pilot projects are underway to test which technology works where — and at what price."
https://www.dw.com/en/solar-energy-protects-german-vineyards-from-climate-change/a-74849301
"New scientific studies suggest that these giant arrays do not only cut greenhouse gas emissions, they also cool the soil, trap more moisture, and help plants and microbes return to once barren ground inside the Gonghe Photovoltaic Park.
In 2024, new energy projects around Talatan created jobs for more than three thousand people, many of them farmers and herders who now maintain equipment or graze so-called photovoltaic sheep inside the park."
High on China's Tibetan Plateau, rows of dark blue solar panels now cover what used to be a bleak stretch of desert. The solar cluster in Qinghai Province can
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