A new study from the University of Sheffield has shown that the combining of solar panels with agricultural practices can enable the UK to achieve its solar energy goals without sacrificing agricultural land.
The research paper, which is published in the Academic Journal Science Direct, shows that well -managed Agrivoltaics (AGRI -PV) projects can support the simultaneous production of crops, cattle and renewable energy. Moreover, the research shows that Agri-PV has such a high coverage potential in the UK that it could only help to achieve British goals for solar energy, in which about 55.5% of the British country appears to be suitable for the use of Agri-PV.
The study investigated various regions of the UK to investigate, which would be most suitable for Agri-PV implementation, and specially identified Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire and the wider East and southeastern regions of England. These regions were particularly emphasized as the ideal for Agri-PV setups due to their high availability of flat country, strong grid connectivity and the prevalence of solar radiation.
The aim of this research is to fill in important knowledge gaps and to inform policy debates in land use by promoting multifunctional land use, and to encourage further research to guide the development of Agri-PV in the UK. Although Agri-PV is common in a large part of Europe, where it has been shown that leafy vegetables, potatoes, grain crops and soft fruit are successfully growing in Agri-PV settings.
In addition, the report emphasizes the work of earlier studies that brands that Agri-PV can in fact be considerably beneficial for crops, because the shadow of the PV panels can minimize the impact of drought and lower water use.
Co-author Dr. Richard Randle-Boggis, who conducted Agrivoltaics Research at the University of Sheffield and is now research scientist at Sintef, said: “Research into Agrivoltaïschens has been extended on mainland Europe, but very little has been done in the VK.
“Our next step should be field experiments to test the performance of the systems, to investigate different designs with different crops and better understand the perspectives of local communities and other stakeholders.
“The loss of agricultural land is usually an important reason why communities are opposed to the development of Solar Park in their local areas. Our research takes a leading step to show where solar parks can be developed in addition to agricultural activities, so that agricultural land is not lost. “
Professor Sue Hartley, vice-president for research and innovation at the University of Sheffield that co-author of the study, added: “The government and solar developers have ambitious plans for the expansion of solar farms, but this risk the loss of agricultural country needs food production in a time in which global food-automatic.
“Agrivoltaic technology is a potential path from this dilemma. It enables us to use the same country area for both food and the production of clean energy, which tackles part of the criticism of solar farms. This technology is regularly used in many parts of the world, including areas such as Scandinavia with less sunlight than the UK, but has not yet been accepted here.
“Our research identifies the areas in the UK where this technology can be used most effectively, both to reduce conflicts in land use and to deliver the energy needs of the UK.”
