Agrivoltaic farming represents a harmonious synergy between two critical sectors – farming and renewable energy. It is an innovative and sustainable approach that involves the co-implementation of solar panels and agricultural practices on the same land.
Agrivoltaic farming is an emerging concept that not only maximizes land use efficiency but also offers a range of benefits, including increased crop yields, energy generation, and environmental conservation.
This is the promise of agrivoltaic farming – a transformative solution that brings hope for a greener, more resilient world.
Agrivoltaic farming, also known as agrivoltaics, agrovoltaics, sun sharing or agrophotovoltaics, is the practice of integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with agricultural activities. It uses agricultural land for both growing crops and producing solar energy in order to boost total productivity and farmers’ revenue.
In comparison to conventional farming practices that rely on fossil fuels and extensive water usage, strain our environment and deplete precious natural resources, renewable agriculture offers a sustainable alternative, a path that embraces innovation and eco-consciousness.
The benefits of agrivoltaic farming
By harnessing the power of renewable energy sources, optimising water usage, and adopting climate-resilient farming techniques, we can:
- safeguard our future food supply
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- conserve land and water resources
- mitigate the effects of climate change by providing shade and reducing temperature fluctuations for crops
- nurture a planet capable of sustaining generations
Agrivoltaic can help takle climate change by Increasing the world’s solar energy capacity will be a big part of solving the sustainability equation. At the same time, the UN estimates that the global population is set to rise by an estimated 2 billion people in the next 30 years, and land is at a premium. Agrivoltaics is one way of using the same area of land to produce more food while also rolling out more sources of renewable energy.
Original source: World Economic Forum
