Solar energy installations usually occupy large areas of space that can also be used for agriculture. From this “contradiction” was born agrivoltaics, a system that allows the same area of land to be used for both things: obtaining green energy and, consequently, harvesting the land.
The latest research on the subject, published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, suggests that the benefits of solar panels in the field and their effects on crop soil, air and carbon dioxide absorption, among other things, are not the only thing in this combination of nature and energy. Apparently, it can also be a relief for those who work on land.
A microclimate that benefits crops and panels. To carry out this research, experts created a computer model that simulates the microclimate created under solar panels. Thanks to this program, they were able to monitor heat and wind movement, water loss, crop growth and farmers’ heat stress.
Applied to a hot day in New Jersey, the model compared the impact of agronomists with solar panels on open farmland and barren soil. According to the study, the agrivoltaic systems managed to cool the crop by 1.84 ºC, resulting in a 22.4% reduction in water evaporation. Furthermore, thanks to this microclimate, the surface of the panels is also cooled by 5.6%, which gives them greater efficiency, since photovoltaic cells tend to lose efficiency when their temperature rises too much.
Panels can protect field workers. Another finding from the study is that the combined effect of crops and solar panels has been able to reduce air heating and cooling local temperatures. This means that field professionals who treated these crops and worked on these fields experienced less thermal stress during their shift with an average perceived temperature of 39º to 35º. Thanks to this, an agrivoltaic installation can provide more work security on extremely hot days.
Use technology to learn better. Although the study clarifies that these data are related to a specific crop and climate, it also shows that such models have great potential to evaluate agrivoltaic systems with different crops, microenvironments and panels. As Ecoinventos explains, the published work tries to overcome a common limitation of this type of study, which is closely related to a real farm, such as the separate analysis of variables such as air temperature, humidity or crop growth.
A good example would be Spain. Although the study was carried out using data from California and Minnesota and launched on a farm in New Jersey, this model can also be very revealing for some Mediterranean regions such as our country, thanks to the possibility of adjusting the data for each situation. In Spain, agriculturists have already started to appear in the debate about the future of agriculture and solar energy, but it is still far from a comprehensive solution. According to the Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF), a good part of the existing projects continue as small-scale pilots for a limited time.
According to PV Magazine, a group funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was announced this summer to map such facilities. It is a collaborative digital platform that will connect all actors in the value chain, such as farmers, ranchers, installers, energy companies and associations associated with the sector. The goal is, ultimately, to paint a clear picture of a technology that is still taking its first steps in our country.
Picture | Sangro EMEA
In Xataka | While many return to farming again and again, this company has been direct seeding for decades: “We don’t grow crops that don’t adapt.”
