Double harvest from field and grassland – solar power from and for farmers

Agrivoltaics is gaining ground both in and for agriculture. On the one hand, solar power from fields and grassland opens up additional stable sources of income. On the other, in a growing number of regions, shading and covering land with photovoltaic modules is becoming the very technology that keeps farming viable in an era of climate change.

PV systems not only help balance the water cycle on the land, they also protect against erosion, sunburn, late spring frosts during longer growing seasons and the many other effects of increasingly severe weather events. In livestock farming, too, agrivoltaics has become a practical way to provide shelter for animals.

The first results from long-term studies are now available, and they show that shading from solar modules poses no problem for the vast majority of plants. On the contrary: if the solar installation is configured so that enough of the light needed for photosynthesis still reaches the plants, both solar yields and agricultural yields can actually be increased.

The precondition, however, is that a few key points are observed during planning and construction. Alongside the right technology, careful construction is essential to avoid excessive soil compaction. Done well, solar installations on fields and meadows can function effectively and secure their financing.

How to achieve this, and what to watch out for, is set out in this special report on photovoltaics in agriculture.