About

The Problem

The agricultural sector is responsible for around 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, largely due to the strong dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs (heating, cooling, irrigation or electric devices.) However, farmers are reluctant to introduce innovative technologies or to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels due to the fear of not meeting production volumes.

The Solution

To meet the Green New Deal goal of decarbonization by 2050, innovative sustainable solutions such as agrivoltaics (agriPV) need to be implemented. AgriPV provides multiple benefits, including the reduction of fossil fuels, improving crop yields and creating local socio-financial opportunities, while protecting against harsh weather conditions and reducing evapotranspiration.

In this context, PV4Plants promotes the synergy of agriculture and energy sectors thanks to an innovative agriPV technology to improve growing conditions and land use efficiency, yield and renewable energy production. Its system is based on light spectrum engineering, multi-indicator real-time monitoring system, improved microclimate beneath agriPV panels to improve crop health and yield while producing renewable energy.

What PV4Plants will deliver

  • Creation of an adaptable knowledge framework to involve end users in the agriPV implementation and promote synergies between agricultural and photovoltaic infrastructure facilities.
  • Development of a highly replicable methodology to elucidate crop performance under different light spectrum conditions.
  • Adaptation of the modular initial PV4Plants design to the specific pilot requirements and implement agriPV system based on glass-based colour converters and bifacial solar panels.
  • Proactive Facility Control and Operation for optimised operation of the agriPV system.
  • Increase the recyclability and reuse materials during the entire lifecycle of the agriPV system and provide circular local economy models.
  • Demonstrate agriPV system solutions under different conditions (e.g. weather, geography, solar irradiation, type of crops, etc.)
  • Development of policy brief as suggestion for EU policy makers in order to develop an EU-wide framework for the scalable deployment of agriPV projects.
  • PV4Plants aims to increase market penetration and adoption of agriPV systems in Europe.