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What If One Plot of Land Could Feed People AND Power Cities?


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The world’s population has reached 8 billion in 2022 and the United Nations projected it to rise to a peak of approximately 10.3 billion by 2080. It is becoming more challenging to ensure there is sufficient food and energy to sustainably meet the growing demand. Governments around the world are shifting to electrification to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve energy security while cutting carbon emissions. In 2024, solar was reported as the EU’s fastest-growing power source, surpassing coal for the first time. In the Renewables 2024 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar photovoltaics (PV) alone has been forecasted to account for 80% of the growth in the global renewable capacity till 2030. However, this also means that there will be a surge of land areas required for solar installations i.e. a land area of 4-5 acres is generally needed to produce 1MW of solar energy, creating a conflict with land use for food production as quite often solar farms require similar land types to those used for agriculture.  

But what if there was a way to use the same plot of land for both agriculture production and energy generation? This is where the concept of agrivoltaics was introduced. Although the idea was first proposed in the 1980s by German physicists, Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastro (both of whom were founders of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems), the term “agrivoltaic” was first coined in a paper published in 2011 by a team of French scientists led by Christophe Dupraz. Agrivoltaics is described as the pairing of solar power generation with agriculture, enabling efficient, effective and innovative dual-use of land to boost food and energy production, creating a sustainable symbiosis.  

 

Types of agrivoltaics systems and the potential benefits to farmers 

Agrivoltaics can be integrated with livestock and crop production and there are generally 3 main types:

  • Elevated: where solar panels are placed above vegetation,
  • Inter-row: this involves solar panels being placed in the space between where crops are being planted,
  • Greenhouse PV: solar panels being placed on the roof of greenhouses.  

Elevated agrivoltaics systems protect crops better from extreme weather such as heavy rains and intensive sunlight while inter-row configuration provides crops with more access to direct sunlight. Shade-tolerant crops such as berries, grapes, apples, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, etc. tend to thrive under partial shade of elevated solar panels while sun-loving crops such as cereal would benefit from inter-row systems. In an article by Ember, it was reported that a meta-study by Laub et. al. showed that shade-tolerant crop yields for berries or fruits can increase by 15-16% under 35% shade while cereals suffered a 11% decrease in yield with 15% shading. A 2021 project in Oregon showed that potatoes grown under solar panels had a 20% higher yield compared to potatoes grown in direct sunlight. Land use efficiency is also significantly increased with agrivoltaics compared to the use of land purely for farming or energy generation with results potentially reaching 180% for shade-tolerant crops grown under solar PV while crops such as cereals showed potential of reaching 130% land use efficiency with inter-row systems.  

In addition to shading crops, agrivoltaics also promote water conservation with studies showing that solar panels act as shields and reduce water evaporation by 20-30%, thus allowing crops to retain more moisture in soil while lowering irrigation needs. Some agrivoltaics system can also be integrated with rainwater harvesting feature, allowing solar panels to collect rainwater which can then be used to supplement irrigation needs especially during dry periods while cooling the solar panels to maintain optimal performance and increase system efficiency. Sentnet, based in Italy, is an example of a company offering agrivoltaics solar panel that features a patented rainwater harvesting system with its SkyGre system. Sentnet’s technology has been adopted at the Cantine Vaccaro vineyard in Salaparuta, Italy as part of Enel’s “Agrivoltaico Open Labs” initiative, enabling rainwater to be collected in drains under the panels and then fed into collection tanks.  

Agrivoltaics also provide farmers with additional income as not only are they able to harness the power of solar to meet their own energy needs, any excess energy generated can also be sold back to the grid. In addition, farmers could lease or rent their land to solar power companies, thus providing farmers with a consistent and foreseeable income from the land without the need for farmers to fund the solar installation themselves. According to Ember, a project in Poland showed a 12 to 15 times increase in annual income (€20-26k) from 1 hectare of agrivoltaics compared to only growing wheat crop alone (€1.7k), although this is dependent on the price of electricity at the time.  

 

Market opportunity and technological innovation in agrivoltaics 

Multiple market reports estimated that the global agrivoltaics market in the year 2024-2025 would reach USD 4-7 billion and anticipated that this would grow between 5-11% CAGR to 2034. In July 2024, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has identified over 560 agrivoltaics project across the United States representing 10 GW of solar power. In May 2024, the SolarPower Europe digital map highlighted over 200 agrivoltaics projects across Europe, producing a combined capacity exceeding 2.8 GW. According to World Resource Institute (WRI), China has begun their efforts in agrivoltaics since 2011 and currently has more than 500 agrivoltaics projects including crop cultivation, livestock grazing, aquafarming, greenhouses and tea plantations. 

The increasing adoption of agrivoltaics is driving technological innovations in the space and some examples of these unique solutions include (but are not limited to): 

  • Sun’Agri, a French company offering patented dynamic agrivoltaics systems in which the solar panels installed on top of crops can be adjusted in real-time with the use of algorithm to optimise both solar energy generation and plant growth. The algorithm takes into account the plants’ growth pattern, weather (i.e. temperature, humidity) and the farmer’s objectives to enable the positioning of the solar panels to be in-line with the plants’ needs. In 2024, Sun’Agri reported that grape yields at two of its pilot agrivoltaics sites demonstrated 20%-60% higher yields compared to areas without solar panels.  
  • Next2Sun, based in Germany, offers vertical bifacial solar PV with a patented frame system that is capable of collecting sunlight from both the front and back of the panels. The company claimed that their technology takes up less land area compared to conventional horizontal, south-facing solar panels, hence would be a good fit for use in areas where land is limited and expensive. Next2Sun’s two-sided solar panels face East and West, enabling dual-peak power generation in the mornings and evenings without being restricted to mid-day when the sun is directly overhead. In 2024, Next2Sun collaborated with iSun to install vertical agrivoltaics system in Vermont, USA that would span 3.7 acres and feature 138 solar modules placed amidst rows of carrots, beetroot, and saffron crops. 
  • Greece-based nanomaterials company, Brite Solar, utilises patented nanotechnology and deposition technique to produce semi-transparent solar panels that convert unused ultraviolet light into photosynthetically active red light to enhance plant growth while maintaining high power output. Technology is engineered specifically for agrivoltaics and can be used for both open-field and greenhouse applications. Transparency of panels can also be adapted to the light requirements of the crops under the panel. The company has commissioned a 150 MW solar module manufacturing line in the Patras region and aims to reach production capacity of over 20 MW by the end of 2025, which would then be ramped up to 50 MW by the end of 2027.  

The above covers only a very small selection of innovations that are being developed in the space. Scaling up agrivoltaics technology is a key enabler to meeting the rapidly growing food and energy needs, thus R&D would be crucial to unlock the full potential of agrivoltaics. A study by Dr. Chad Higgins from the Oregon State University estimated that the US would meet its national renewable energy goal by just converting 1% of farmland to agrivoltaics. The same was reported in the EU i.e. covering a mere 1% of utilised agricultural areas in the EU with agrivoltaics is said to result in 944 GW direct current, surpassing the EU’s 2030 target of 720 GW direct current for solar energy production. Many countries are already coming up with guidelines or standards to facilitate and promote the deployment of agrivoltaics projects, hence driving further technological development. 

 As an Open Innovation consultancy company, Strategic Allies has extensive experience in the global search for innovative technologies, solutions, products, strategic alliances and other new business generating opportunities across all sectors. Some of the past agritech projects that we have worked on include technology scouting and landscaping in digital monitoring and pheromone-based technologies for pest control, and organic weed control technologies. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you to explore and exploit new technologies and/or offer opportunities to differentiate your offerings, please contact John Allies at john@strategicallies.co.uk.