Coexistence between energy and agriculture is possible

Spain is one of the sunniest countries in Europe. Its approximately 2,500 hours of sunshine per year, comparable to those of Turkey, Italy, Greece, France and Portugal, invite you to make use of its full potential and one of the possibilities it offers is to merge the energy of the sun's rays with another of the country's strong points, the agri-food sector -which has a contribution of more than 111 billion euros to GDP and represents 9.2%-. This symbiosis has a name: agrovoltaic, a concept that seeks to take advantage of the synergies between both fields and take advantage of the same area of land both to obtain solar energy and agricultural products, that is, solar panels coexist with crops on the same surface, or even with livestock.. “Only with 1% of arable land also dedicated to the production of solar energy, it would be possible to compensate the world demand for energy”, concludes a study published by the journal Nature, which means that the more you bet on renewables, the more you contribute to curbing climate change, one of the great threats to the agricultural sector.

This concept, which began to be considered in the 1980s, has gained strength in recent years as the commitment to sustainability has been strengthened, since it seeks to establish synergies between the agricultural and energy sectors through more efficient and shared use of land.. There are several ways to achieve this: the most common is to use fixed support systems to raise the solar panels between two and five meters above the cultivated or grazing land.. Thus, machinery and animals can access the crops or pastures located below them. But there are also other options, since solar panels can be installed on the roof of a greenhouse.

Although it may sound striking a priori, the combination of both uses of the same land offers interesting benefits. Regarding the environment, the reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector stands out. But, in addition, the use and double use of land for agriculture and energy alleviates the pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity, which can coexist with these energy facilities in symbiosis.

But that's not all, since the deployment of solar panels can help limit the evaporation of water in crops, which reduces the water needs of the land. For their part, they also help protect crops from atmospheric phenomena such as hail, frost, downpours or heat waves and droughts, since a reduction in wind loads and solar radiation can contribute to lower water consumption, and can be shelter for animals.

Following this philosophy of making land use compatible, experts from Chonnam National University (South Korea) launched a pioneering study and planted broccoli under solar panels. The results show that the flavor is identical and also its nutritional properties. The panels were raised between two and three meters and turned at an angle of 30º to provide water and shade for the crops. There are numerous examples, most of them developed in the Netherlands and Germany, focusing on wheat, potato, celery, blueberries, red currants, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. In these locations, it has been shown that, during hot days, the conditions under the panels were between two and five degrees Celsius cooler compared to traditional cultivation methods. Closer by, in the French Upper Saxony region, 5,500 panels have been distributed on a farm in the Amance commune and soybeans are already being harvested under its shade. There are also examples of its usefulness with olive trees in Sicily, peach trees and vines in France, and artichokes and peppers in Murcia.