Agrivoltaics is a unique farming approach that combines the production of solar energy and agriculture on a single piece of land. By doing so, the productivity and efficiency of both is enhanced.
The concept of agrivoltaics revolves around the fact that once a plant reaches its optimum level of light exposure, extra light does not contribute to its growth and in fact, leads to an increase in water consumption.
With agrivoltaics, solar panels are installed in an elevated position above the crops. This way, the plants receive an optimal amount of light, with the remaining hours spent in the shade of the panels.
Not only does this method of farming provide the right amount of light for crops, but it also helps to keep the solar panels cool, which leads to a 10% increase in energy production capacity.
So, agrivoltaics is not only a novel farming technique, but also a brilliant solution that addresses the issues of both agriculture and solar energy production by utilizing the same land area in a smart and sustainable way.
