PenInfo Desk: SolarPower Europe launches new Agrisolar Handbook, a key tool for supporting both the farming sector and solar developers, to address climate, energy, and food security concerns.
The handbook lists benefits such as up to a 60% increase in crop yield, depending on crop type, season, regional climate, and PV setup. It also highlights soil temperature changes, with increases of up to 7 C during cold periods and decreases of up to 6 C during warm periods.
The handbook lists additional benefits, including up to an 80% increase in soil carbon storage for solar grazing projects, a 20% to 30% boost in water retention for interrow and elevated PV systems, and a 60% rise in pollinator presence, as observed in one project.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, said, “This is a significant step in SolarPower Europe’s efforts to bring together two critical industries to embrace our shared synergies, working together for a more sustainable future. The future of farming is critical to the EU food independence and resilience. Agrisolar systems boost the farm’s revenue, which can support productive and sustainable investments, and strengthens the farm’s climate resilience on its energy transition journey.”
Seán Kelly, Member of European Parliament said, “To fully harness the potential of agrisolar, we must ensure farmers have the tools and incentives to participate. This includes simplifying grid connections, streamlining planning approvals, and putting payment schemes in place that encourage collaboration between agriculture and renewable energy – all of which are discussed in the report. By providing clear pathways and support, we can help farmers embrace this opportunity and contribute to a more sustainable future.”
The European agricultural industry is currently facing a complex set of challenges, ranging from rising costs, uncertainties around income, and access to land, to the impacts of climate change, water scarcity, and other environmental challenges. These combined challenges shed light on the need to develop innovative solutions to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the European agricultural sector.
Eva Vandest, Chair of SolarPower Europe’s Land Use and Permitting Workstream and Group Head, Amarenco, said, “This new Agrisolar Handbook proposes several archetypes for a successful, profitable project, where the value created must benefit the farmer, the solar stakeholders, investors and the local community, in particular through practices that are beneficial to the environment, the soil, and biodiversity. This dual land-use model should allow us to achieve the energy transition and mitigate carbon emissions, while providing additional services and income to farmers, supporting their adaptation to climate change.”
The report says advancing agrisolar requires a framework linking agricultural and energy policies. SolarPower Europe urges policymakers to clarify that farmers in agrisolar will retain access to Common Agricultural Policy direct payments.
It also calls for dedicated incentives to encourage farmer participation, streamlined permitting and grid connection for agrisolar projects, and improved data collection on agrisolar’s impact on carbon storage, water retention, and biodiversity.
In May, SolarPower Europe published a digital map of more than 200 agrivoltaic projects across the continent, following on from the release of best practice guidelines for agrivoltaics last year.
Peninfo/desk/06.11.24/12.30am