CelloMom On Cars
New study reveals unexpected benefit of solar farms — here’s what it could mean for farmers
"The study involved seeding the land underneath the solar panels with 66 different species of native plants and flowers.
They found that after five years, populations of native #bees had risen to 20 times their initial levels."
#agrivoltaics
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-business/habitat-friendly-solar-energy-insect-population-boost/
CelloMom On Cars
"The emerging field of #agrivoltaics has come a long way in just a few years. From a focus on pollinator habitats and grazing lands, agrivoltaic stakeholders are expanding their ambitions to raise peaches, grapes, and other crops within arrays of ground-mounted solar panels."
https://cleantechnica.com/2024/07/11/peaches-grapes-the-agrivoltaic-farm-of-the-future/
CelloMom On Cars
"By using #solar panels, farmers can simultaneously protect their plants, save #water and lower their energy bills.
Some plants actually produced more with less water. Cowpea beans, for example – also known as black-eyed peas – had a higher crop yield when grown in the shade of solar panels. Full sun required twice as much water, it turned out."
https://azmirror.com/briefs/arizona-farmers-turn-to-solar-panels-to-shade-crops-save-water-and-generate-power/
#agrivoltaics #SolarFarming
CelloMom On Cars
"In France, a landowner could make between 10 and 100 times more money per hectare renting out their land to an energy company than they’d make from conventional farming. This puts the future of agricultural land at risk."
The land does have to feed people, so rules need to be designed around the PV coverage of the land, the yield of crops, and keeping the solution inexpensive enough to make it worthwhile.
Thanks to @richardknott for this link:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00518-6
It's a learning curve.
CelloMom On Cars
There's 107 square km of desertified land in #Binhe region, Ningxia province, China. Baofeng, a "new energy" company, became its manager.
First they planted alfalfa. Then they planted #solar, soon to be 1GW of it, and it's tall solar, 3m off the ground. Underneath that they planted goji berries.
Now, small wild animals like sparrows, hares and pheasants have come back. Land moisture evaporation is down by between 30 and 40%. #Agrivoltaics is a win-win proposition.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/03/giant-agrivoltaic-project-in-china/
CelloMom On Cars
"The #solar panels can also assume an almost vertical position when farm equipment needs to past by. Farmers who host the array would not have to invest in specialized equipment to continue farming.
Solar developers have been encountering a wave of opposition to rural solar arrays. However, the #agrivoltaics trend has taken some of the steam out of the argument against using farmland to generate electricity."
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/25/the-unstoppable-force-of-agrivoltaics-now-with-tiltable-solar-panels/
#SolarFarms
CelloMom On Cars
A study in the UK found very large biodiversity at solar parks with vegetation:
"Overall, they observed 1,397 pollinators across at least 30 species."
"According to the study, solar parks were especially beneficial to pollinators in areas with disconnected landscapes. The authors noted that this could be because areas with well-connected landscapes rich in hedgerows and trees could be more attractive to pollinators because they offer a wider range of resources. "
https://www.ecowatch.com/solar-parks-pollinator-habitats-vegetation-uk.html
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