How agrivoltaic technology could redesign farming
With farmers all over Spain struggling to make a living and demanding help from the government, now is a good time to talk about agrivoltaics — co-developing the same area of land for solar power and agriculture, and that is being applied in more and more countries.
Installing solar panels is fast-becoming a way for farmers to obtain a higher return on the land they cultivate. The coexistence of photovoltaic panels and crops logically means sharing the amount of sunshine and light both receive, which means that this technology does not work for all types of products, but has proved possible for shade tolerant crops — from fruit trees to peanuts, along with alfalfa, yams, taro, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes and lettuce.
In other cases, sun and shade are alternated, which in some countries has made it possible to cultivate such sun-hungry plants as grape vines. In addition, the surface of the solar panels not only helps preserve the humidity in soil for longer, but also to protect crops from extreme weather conditions that are expected to become increasingly frequent, such as hail. Other related technological developments point to transparent solar cells, which can be used as greenhouse covers, which thus become energy self-sufficient.
