Agrivoltaics: weather-smart solar panels aid in food production

A French solar company is trying out this innovative approach in the community of Amance

The cereal fields near the French town of Amance, in the northeast of the country, have become the testbed for a pilot project, which sees the introduction of dual land use – the installation of solar panels that allow crops to grow underneath them. The project, headed by solar developer TSE, previews to start supplying electricity to the local grid at the beginning of December without interrupting the agricultural production on the same land.

The pilot facility is equipped with TSE's agricultural canopy and a 2.4 MW capacity with rotating solar panels fixed on cables 5 meters above the ground. The company also uses tracking algorithms via a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system to orient the photovoltaic modules according to climatic conditions. By optimizing this tracking algorithm, TSE hopes to be able to increase production between 10% and 20% compared to a conventional PV plant.

Maximizing land use through technology

The big issue with the solar branch of the renewables sector was its intensive need for land in order to maximise power production to meaningful levels. Large tracts of inarable land are scarce in Europe, unlike other continents. In addition, the setting up of massive solar plants had the potential to threaten the biomes located under the panels, suddenly deprived of sunlight.

Different solutions have been developed under the mantle term of agrivoltaics, and the weather-sensitive TSE panels are the latest such. Here the focus is on creating proper dual land use, in a way that not only allows for the two productive processes to unfold without disturbing each other. In fact, the idea here is that the solar modules will add value to the food production below.

For one, the panels are placed high enough to allow the passage of agricultural machines underneath them. What’s more, the modules are weather-sensitive. They can follow the trajectory of the sun to turn accordingly, providing a mix of sun exposure and shade during hot summers when the temperature of the ground can increase to unhealthy levels.

On the other hand, the panels turn vertically when rain is falling in order to allow the irrigation of the crops. Alternatively, when there is a hailstorm, they act as shields for the crops.

“We believe that it is possible to reconcile sustainable agriculture, green energy, redeployment of biodiversity and preservation of water resources. This is the meaning of the ambitious program that we have designed and that we are currently deploying in nine other sites in France,” said Mathieu Debonnet, the president of TSE, as quoted by PV Magazine.