A Japanese consortium is piloting agrivoltaic technology using film-type perovskite solar cells over rice fields to study energy generation alongside crop production. The three-year project will assess impacts on rice yields, land use and emissions, while testing the performance and commercial viability of the technology.
A consortium of Japanese partners is working on a pilot project involving the installation of an agrivoltaic installation of film-type perovskite solar cells above rice fields.
The five collaboration partners, Sekisui Solar Film, Terra Inc, Himawari Green Energy, Chiba University and Chiba Bank, have entered into a memorandum of understanding to implement the installation at the university’s Kashiwa-no-ha campus, about half an hour north of the capital Tokyo, in Japan‘s Chiba Prefecture.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sekisui Solar Film will supply the film-type perovskite solar cells, Terra will be responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the facility and Himawari Green Energy will conduct a business feasibility assessment of an agricultural management model using perovskite solar cells. Chiba University is supplying the fields and will assess the installation’s impact on agricultural work and crops, while Chiba Bank is providing financial support.
The project, which will last three years, will verify the performance of the lens-type perovskite modules in the rice fields, as well as the impact of the installation on agricultural land, the yield and quality of rice crops and the impact on methane emissions. Chiba University will also purchase the electricity generated by the facility.
This latest collaboration follows work between Terra and Sekisui Chemical Co, the parent company of Sekisui Solar Film, who have been working on verification tests on lens-type modules using film-like perovskite solar cells in Sōsa City since August 2024.
Last May, Sekisui Solar Film announced work to collaborate on flexible perovskite solar panel technologies with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (NTO). The company is also working on one 100 MW perovskite solar energy production line in Japan, scheduled for operations in 2027.
Earlier this month, Japan’s government began to evolve new standards for agrivoltaic energy which requires developers to submit crop plans, financial forecasts, equipment designs and evidence that crops can grow under panels. It follows a voluntary reference guide of the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, which focuses on sharing land for agricultural installations.
Previous research has pointed to agrivoltaic energy in rice fields, including a recently completed study field trialwhere there are trade-offs between crop yields and energy production.
Last month, This was announced by the Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan 2 MW agricultural solar power plantInstalled 3.8 meters above a rice field, it is now operational. The project features a community model that returns part of the profits from energy generation to farmers.
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