Agri PV (AgriVoltaics) Business Opportunities

Agrivoltaic, the future of farming
Agrivoltaics is an impeccable combination of solar panels and plants on the agricultural land. It involves combining crops with photovoltaic panels, installed with enough height to allow farm machinery to pass underneath. The task is to generate crops and energy simultaneously and without conflict. It’s an idea which could bring food producing to the next level. In Agrivoltaic the solar panels are put up at a height of 10-15 feet and that’s how the agricultural activities do not get hampered by the solar panels. Rather the solar panels help the agriculture land retain moisture and do not evaporate water as quickly as it would have been without the panels. The panels also protect the crop from direct sunlight which is beneficial for the crops. It improves the crop yield. During rainy season the panels prevent rain falling directly on the land and causing soil erosion. Within past recent years PV technologies has sprouted intensely. A lot of social actors- business, households, cities- acknowledged the environmental necessity and profit out of it and decided to implement it in their own fashion. It happened in farming too.
How Solar Changes Traditional Farming
Solar farm is a field filled with hundreds or maybe thousands of solar panels slanted towards the sun. Instead of potatoes, beans or tomatoes planted in the soil, solar panels covers that land, while energy is being produced. Traditional farming is relatively risky business because one is very much reliant on the weather conditions. If there is just the right amount of sun, rain and if there are no extreme storms, strong winds and etc. Thus, not to worry about all these environmental factors and still get income is really uplifting and a bit too good to be true. Therefore, next to power generation, solar farms found another niche- Agrivoltaics. It is an amazing idea for environmentally conscious world, both agribusiness and society. Since 2010, when the cost of installing solar system has dropped more than a half, solar farming started to bloom. Now, we see its consequences: the more solar farming, the less food is grown. And that makes sociologists and economists worried. On one hand, we have renewable energy produced, on the other hand- if a field is given to PV technology, it basically means less food is grown which can have important impact for society and nature’s ecosystems.
Vertical Agrivoltaics
The facility was built with hetro-junction modules and mounting systems provided by German companies respectively. The distance between the panel rows ranges from 8 to 10 meters and the agricultural surface within the rows will be utilized by local livestock farmers as pasture. The solar modules for the facility were supplied by German manufacturer, which provided n-type hetro-junction panels for the project. The vertical mounting system was provided by German specialist. The array design was adapted to comply with domestic wind speed standards. Ground and bearing capacity surveys were also conducted to ensure sufficient resistance to strong winds. New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) recently released new guidelines to develop and build ground-mounted Agrivoltaic facilities in a bid to increase the presence of such projects in the land-scarce country. Future of Agrivoltaics
Global investment in solar power generation is growing very fast. Solar energy increased its share of global electricity generating capacity by 50% in 2016 alone, overtaking growth in wind, gas and other renewable technologies. The cost of solar photovoltaic cells – the major capital cost in solar installations using that technology- has fallen 80% the size and efficiency of farm machinery that can be deployed under and between the frames.
Only time will tell if Agrivoltaics will take off in the farming industry. Agrivoltaics has both advantages and disadvantages to farmers, and perhaps more research and government adaptation of renewable energy rebates will push Agrivoltaics to become more widespread.
So, Agrivoltaic is a new way of using solar technology together with traditional farming. Of course, it still needs some discussions, testing and further development, but today it is obvious that such method- solar farming in its true sense- has big perspectives to benefit society and business more than it has ever been before.