Farming Under Solar Panels

Farming crops under solar panels a process called agrivoltaics can boost food production water savings and the efficiency of electricity production researchers report.

Farming under solar panels.

The researchers planted wheat potatoes celeriac and clover grass in the open and under the panels and compared the yields. The institute elevated 720 solar panels high enough for farm machinery to harvest plants underneath and nearby according to a 2017 press release. Since 2010 the cost of installing solar on homes and businesses has plummeted by more than 50 percent pdf. Traditionally when solar developers turn to farmland for their projects the property is leased or sold to the developer the topsoil is stripped and the panels are mounted on concrete footings embedded in the land.

Having vegetation underneath and around solar panels can reduce the levels of dust and soiling on panels. The soils here in illinois are some of the most productive soils in the world said soil. Still some worry that farmers are embracing solar panels without thinking enough about what will be lost. Traditionally when solar developers turn to farmland for their projects the property is leased or sold to the developer the topsoil is stripped and the panels are mounted on concrete footings.

While the shift boosts renewable energy generation it weakens the local food supply. Land can be reverted back to agricultural uses at the end of the operational life for solar installations. The researchers planted wheat potatoes celeriac. Greg barron gafford associate professor at the university of arizona shows that combining these two systems solar panel photovoltaic infrastructure and agriculture can create a mutually.

Solar shading decreased production 5 3 percent to 19 percent. Solar s biggest boom and the trend will increase as renewable energy especially solar power is more thoroughly incorporated into america s 900 million acre pdf agricultural economy. There s a lot of solar going in it could push farmers out of farming or diversify the family farm he says. The institute elevated 720 solar panels high enough for farm machinery to harvest plants underneath and nearby according to a 2017 press release.