Agrovoltaics combine the use of land for farming and solar energy production. The concept is constantly evolving and attracting more and more interest. They are no longer seen as a niche solution. This is why every advance in the field of agricultural PV systems is significant, reports PV Europe.
According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, more than 14 GW of capacity has already been installed worldwide in 2020. Leading the way among these is China. However, solar PV is also gaining popularity on the Old Continent.
Germany, for example, has launched innovation tenders to promote the technology, Italy is planning a major funding package and France has founded the world's first association dedicated to promoting agricultural PV.
A key advantage of agri-voltaics is that they prevent conflicts in the use of agriculturally important land to increase solar energy production using ground-mounted PV systems. This can be seen in many European countries.
Italy has already pledged EUR 1.1 billion for the promotion of agrivoltaics, including the installation of 2 GW of agricultural PV capacity.
France has been promoting agricultural PV since 2017 through a series of innovation auctions, launching 48 projects in 2020 alone.
In its coalition agreement, Germany's new federal government announced that it plans to promote the wider use of agrivoltaics as part of its 200 GW solar target.
Photovoltaics have great potential in regions with desert climates or pronounced periods of drought, where water conservation plays a vital role in agriculture. There are already examples of their successful application in orchards and vineyards.
For example, on a raspberry farm in the Netherlands, the fruit is grown on 3.3 ha under a 2.67 MW PV system. This method has increased the net yield by about 6% compared to conventional raspberry cultivation techniques that use polytunnels.