As the world grapples with the climate crisis and transition from fossil fuels to renewables, crops and clean energy are increasingly sharing the same land, and agrivoltaics — the growing of crops beneath the shade of solar panels — is expanding.

Now, scientists are looking into how to harness the sun’s light spectrum in a way that can improve the efficiency of agrivoltaic systems in areas with arid farmland.

In a new study, scientists at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), discovered that the blue part of the light spectrum is more efficient for solar energy production, while the red part of the spectrum is better for plant growth, a press release from UC Davis said.

The study, “Not All Light Spectra Were Created Equal: Can We Harvest Light for Optimum Food-Energy Co-Generation?” was published in the journal Earth’s Future.

“This paper is a door opener for all sorts of technological advancements,” said associate professor at the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources […]