Is Agrivoltaics The Future Of Farming?

The concept of agrivoltaics dates back to the early 1980s when German physicist Adolf Goetzberger first proposed combining agriculture and solar energy production to address land scarcity, food security, and increasing energy demand.

Over the years, agrivoltaics has evolved into a promising solution that addresses various global challenges while offering significant benefits to agriculture, such as increased land use efficiency and water savings.

The Origins and Evolution of Agrivoltaics from Adolf Goetzberger’s Vision

The origins of agrivoltaics can be traced back to the early 1980s when concerns about land scarcity, food security, and increasing energy demand started to gain prominence. At the time, solar energy emerged as a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels. As a result, scientists were exploring innovative ways to integrate renewable energy production with traditional land use practices. Adolf Goetzberger, a German physicist and solar energy pioneer, was among the first to propose combining agriculture with solar energy generation, thus giving birth to agrivoltaics in its 1981 paper published in the International Journal of Solar Energy with Armin Zastrow.

Agrivoltaics, also known as agro photovoltaics or solar sharing, was conceived as a solution to the dual challenge of producing sufficient food and energy for a rapidly growing global population while preserving the planet’s limited resources. Goetzberger envisioned that integrating solar panels with agricultural land could lead to better land utilization, increased efficiency in energy production, and minimal disruption to agricultural activities. As a result, research and experimentation in agrivoltaics began to gain traction, leading to the development of various configurations and approaches that maximized the benefits of combining food production with renewable energy generation. Over the years, agrivoltaics has evolved into a promising solution that addresses the pressing issues of land scarcity, food security, and climate change, with its roots firmly grounded in the visionary work of Adolf Goetzberger.

According to Adolf Goetzberger’s work, several essential criteria must be considered before classifying a system as agrivoltaics:

1. There must be a seamless integration of solar energy production with agricultural activities, ensuring neither is compromised.
2. The configuration should optimize land use efficiency by maximizing food production and energy generation within the same area.
3. The system should prioritize sustainability, minimizing environmental impacts, such as soil degradation, water consumption, and biodiversity loss.
4. The agrivoltaic system should demonstrate a synergistic effect between agriculture and solar energy production, providing benefits beyond each component’s outputs.

The Impressive Growth The Solution Witnessed Over The Years

As the demand for renewable energy and sustainable land use practices increases, the correlation between the expansion of photovoltaics and agrivoltaics becomes more evident. For example, global solar capacity doubled in 3 years from 2018, bringing the world’s solar fleet to one Terawatt capacity in April 2022, according to SolarPower Europe, showcasing the rapid adoption of photovoltaic technology. On the other hand, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights that global agricultural land has remained relatively constant at around 4.9 billion hectares since the early 2000s, emphasizing the challenge of efficiently utilizing available land resources.

Agrivoltaics offers a potential solution to this challenge, combining solar energy generation and agriculture on the same land. While comprehensive global data on agrivoltaic installations is limited, numerous pilot projects and research studies worldwide have demonstrated the potential benefits and synergies of such systems. For instance, a 2018 study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany reported a 60% increase in land use efficiency by combining solar panels with crop cultivation. These findings, coupled with the growing interest from governments and stakeholders, indicate a positive correlation between the expansion of photovoltaics and the adoption of agrivoltaic practices. However, it’s important to note that the scale and impact of agrivoltaics will vary across different regions and contexts.

Solar and energy companies have increasingly recognized the value of partnering with farmers to utilize agricultural land for solar installations, often offering them higher revenue per acre than traditional farming practices generate. This additional income can attract farmers, who may face volatile commodity prices, unpredictable weather, and challenging market conditions. By leasing their land to solar companies to install photovoltaic panels, farmers can secure a stable, long-term income stream that is less susceptible to the risks associated with agricultural production. Solar developers often enter into long-term lease agreements, offering farmers a fixed rate per acre or a percentage of the revenue generated from solar installation. This financial incentive benefits the farmers by supplementing their income, supporting renewable energy growth, and contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.

For example, Energy News US published an article in 2017 stating how companies such as Strata Solar would lease land from the farmer and pay anywhere between $700 to $1100 per acre per year, which often represented two to three times more than what the farmer would generate from selling wheat or soybeans spiking ethical concerns on how farmers may want to focus more on yielding passive income.

Here are the most recent developments in the field of Agrivoltaics:

TotalEnergies Acquires France’s Agrivoltaics Leader Ombrea: TotalEnergies, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company, has recently acquired Ombrea, France’s leading agrivoltaics company. The company was founded in 2016 and specializes in maximizing the synergy between agricultural production and green electricity generation. This acquisition will boost TotalEnergies’ agrivoltaics development both in domestic and international markets. TotalEnergies aims to develop its 1.5 GW of agrivoltaic projects under the French Renewable Energy Acceleration Law, and this move will help them achieve their goal. The Aix-en-Provence site will serve as TotalEnergies’ global hub for agrivoltaics, integrating Ombrea’s team and founders.

iSun and Next2Sun Launch Vertical Agrivoltaics in Vermont: iSun, Inc. and Next2Sun Mounting Systems GmbH are partnering to bring Next2Sun’s vertical agrivoltaics system to the United States. The first project will be in Vermont, starting in early 2024. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action supports the project.