Research from the University of Sheffield suggest that combining solar panels with farming (so-called ‘agrivoltaics’) can meet UK solar energy targets without sacrificing agricultural land.
The Great Britain-focussed study investigated the potential for installing ground-mounted PV in ways that would allow for farming activities underneath or between panels, allowing simultaneous production of crops, livestock and renewable energy. It found agrivoltaics has such high coverage potential that it could meet UK government PV targets on its own, while avoiding land use conflicts. Previous studies in Tanzania and Kenya have shown that agrivoltaics can boost crop yields and conserve water. Researchers found that certain crops, such as maize, Swiss chard and beans, thrived under the partial shade provided by solar panels. The shade also reduced water evaporation and the panels themselves provided rainwater to supplement irrigation.
Professor Sue Hartley, Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield, who co-authored the study, said: “This technology is in regular use in many parts of the world, including areas like Scandinavia with less sunlight than the UK, but has not yet been adopted here”.
Co-author Dr Richard Randle-Boggis, who conducted agrivoltaics research at the University of Sheffield and is now a research scientist at SINTEF, said: “Research on agrivoltaics is extensive in mainland Europe, but very little has been done in the UK.
“Our next step should be field experiments to test the performance of the systems, investigate different designs with different crops and better understand the perspectives of local communities and other stakeholders.”