EU backs new project to strengthen role of solar power in agriculture
Population growth and energy demands mean new insights into land use efficiency are ‘urgently needed,’ says developer behind the project
The European Union is funding a new initiative to develop six projects across the continent aimed at fusing solar power with agriculture, targeting a sector that is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally.
German clean energy company BayWa r.e. announced on Thursday that it had secured €6.5m ($6.9m) in backing from the EU’s LIFE Programme, the bloc’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action.
“All six projects are either first or significant steps forward for their respective markets,” said BayWa r.e.
“Working closely with EU representatives, landowners, and local communities,” BayWa r.e said it aims to develop the commercial viability of agrivoltaics or ‘Agri-PV’ to show its benefits as an “effective climate-adaptation strategy for fruit and crop cultivation in Europe.”
Three of the new projects, in France, Spain and the Netherlands, will try to prove the benefits of “fruitvoltaics” – using solar power to support fruit farming.
These will aim to increase resistance to climate change by providing a combination of crop protection and generation of green solar energy, within an innovative financing model, said BayWa.
Three more projects in Germany, Spain, and Italy will examine ways to scale up Agri-PV alongside arable crops like summer and winter wheat or soya.
“At a time when population growth and energy demands are rising,” BayWa r.e. said that “new insights into land use efficiency are urgently needed.”
“These projects will provide insight by pushing the boundaries of Agri-PV,” said BayWa r.e. “The Spanish project will be the country’s first ever using almonds. In Germany, this will be the first project researching Agri-PV and traditional crops at such a large scale.”
Stephan Schindele, head of product management Agri-PV at BayWa r.e., said the projects are “pushing innovative Agri-PV applications into the marketplace.”
“Only if the farming, environment, and energy sectors work hand in hand, can we successfully adapt to climate change while also minimising carbon footprint in farming processes.”
Bernd Decker, representative of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, said that the initiative “could potentially develop our understanding in a lot of key environmental areas.”
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