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Tuesday, April 16th, 2019

Fraunhofer Reports Combining Farming With Solar 186% More Efficient In Summer Of 2018

Author:     Steve Hanley
Source:     CleanTechnica
Publication Date:     April 12th, 2019
 Link: Fraunhofer Reports Combining Farming With Solar 186% More Efficient In Summer Of 2018
Stephan:   One of the criticism of solar that I hear frequently from Republican critics of renewable energy technologies is that solar, wind, and farming don't mix, and that to use non-carbon source we would have to sacrifice farmlands. How can I say this politely, on the basis of actual data that is a crock.

For many people, solar power is seen as a threat to farming communities. That’s because they believe farmers must  choose between raising crops or livestock and installing solar panels on their land. The Fraunhofer Institute has been conducting experiments in what it calls agrophotovoltaics for two years near Lake Constance, Germany. In the first year, it found the combination of solar and agriculture made the land 160% more productive than if it had been devoted exclusively to one or the other.

Agrophotovoltaics & Hot Weather

2108 was one of the hottest years yet in Europe, with the high temperatures having a negative affect on the yield from many farms. Yet Fraunhofer’s Lake Constance experimental farm thrived. The shading provide by the solar panels actually increased the harvest and the extra sunshine boosted electricity output as well. “Based on the 2018 potato yield, the land use efficiency rose to 186% per hectare with the agrophotovoltaic system,” says Stephan Schindele of Fraunhofer ISE in a press release.

The Lake Constance farm mounts its solar panels 5 meters above the ground, leaving room for livestock and plants to grow […]

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3 Comments

  1. Albus Eddie on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 5:33 am

    This is a game changer.

  2. sam crespi on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 9:01 am

    Thank you for posting! Great news.

  3. Rev. Dean on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 11:01 am

    Wow. What a fantastic idea as long as the plants under the cells can survive and thrive without full sun. This surely looks like a winner of an idea contest for farmers, and maybe even gardeners if a person can afford the initial expense.