Writer: Sum C

“Agrivoltaics”, a word combining “agriculture” and “solar photovoltaic power generation”, denotes a solution of maximising the land use with solar panels and food crops existing on the same piece of land. This solution has been widely adopted in recent years around the globe like America, China, Canada, Britain, etc..  

How is an agrivoltaic system set up? The traditional installation of solar panels which are close to the ground unavoidably occupies the land. When an agrivoltaic system is established, solar panels are installed at a certain height, depending on the crops to be grown, above the ground. Won’t the solar panels blocking the sunlight affect the growth of crops? Though sunlight is essential for the growth of crops, excessive sunlight will cause dehydration of crops and so more irrigation is needed. Sometimes the solar panels are set up by cluster with spacing in-between to create the habitat with a mix of shading and sunlight for crops requiring different amounts of sunlight.

Agrivoltaics has lots of benefits which include:

• Production of renewable energy– The emission of carbon dioxide from the generation of electricity with fossil fuels will decrease when more solar energy is used.. 
• Saving water – As mentioned, the solar panels reduce direct sunlight exposure to the land during the day so less soil moisture is evaporated and plants have lower water demand. As a result, less irrigation is needed.
• Creating a new habitat for crop growing - The temperature difference decreases between the day and night on the shaded land. With the combination of shaded and exposed land, farmers can grow more variety of crops on the same piece of agricultural land.
• Protecting farmers’ health – The shaded land can be shelter for farmers during the day. That will reduce the risk of heatstroke.

Agrivoltaics can achieve the best of two worlds: enhancing the productivity of agricultural land and wider use of renewable energy. In fact, the agrivoltaics is getting more popular and widely adopted in the four corners of the world. The first world conference on agrivoltaic systems was held in 2020 with the participation of 38 countries to share the different aspects of agrivoltaics including technology and public policy. It is expected that with more promotion, education and subsidy, agrivoltaics will become the trend of sustainable agricultural development.
 

Sources:
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/03/agrivoltaics-scores-impressive-triple-win-but-some-food-safety-concerns-remain/
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Photovoltaic_system
https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/newsroom/sustainable-farm-agrivoltaic
https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2019/benefits-of-agrivoltaics-across-the-food-energy-water-nexus.html
https://metsolar.eu/blog/what-is-agrivoltaics-how-can-solar-energy-and-agriculture-work-together/#!
https://www.agrivoltaics-conference.org/scientific-committee

Images Sources:
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/03/agrivoltaics-scores-impressive-triple-win-but-some-food-safety-concerns-remain/