An issue with solar panel fields is the amount of land they can take up. You've maybe seen solar panels over parking lots. What if you could put them on farmland?
Agrivoltaics is using solar panels in conjunction with farming to turn the shade from the panels into a positive. A positive, get it? I'm pretty charged by the potential here.
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| photo from Sun'Agri |
In southern France they've tried it with two vineyard sites with surprisingly good results. The panels moderated temperatures and showed these changes:
- The wines contained slightly less alcohol as there was less sugar in the harvested grapes.
- There were reduced irrigation needs of up to 70%.
- Helps prevent frost.
- They got 20% to 70% higher yields. This may be from cooler climate grapes planted in a hotter area than ideal, then using the solar panels to bring the temperature back down to a level where the grape variety thrives.
These results were reported by the French agrivoltaics company that ran the test. The proof will be in the quality of the finished wine.
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