Farmers in Poland could gain a lot if the government introduced regulations enabling the construction of agrovoltaic installations – according to new report by the energy think tank Ember. Farms that combine grain or fruit cultivation with electricity production can generate higher profits, experts calculate.
According to the report, the potential for building installations in which grains or fruit grow under or next to photovoltaic panels is very large. Ember calculates that in Poland the total capacity of such photovoltaic farms could reach almost 120 gigawatts. This is more than six times the total installed capacity of photovoltaics in Poland today. Also in other countries of Central Europe – Czech RepublicSlovakia and Hungary – this potential is large and untapped.
Experts see this solution as not only an opportunity to develop renewable energy without “taking away” agricultural land, but also a specific benefit for farmers. The studies they cite show a positive effect of panels on some crops. For example, raspberry yields on agrovoltaic farms can be 16 percent higher.
Profit for farmers
Not every type of crop is the same, and for example wheat or oats will yield a dozen or so percent, sometimes 20 percent less. However, as the authors of the report point out, wheat cultivation in Poland is currently an activity on the verge of profitability, and sometimes generating losses. Combining crops with a profitable photovoltaic installation can provide farmers with financial stability and even the means to conduct organic farming. The report states:
A sample calculation shows that when combining solar panels with wheat, revenues per hectare can be twelve times higher than from growing wheat alone. This translates into a potential annual profit of PLN 5,400 per hectare from combined sales of electricity and wheat.
– We are seeing more and more droughts and extreme phenomena weather conditions, and agrovoltaics can help protect crops. Installing solar panels in combination with agricultural production can also stabilize the income of farmers concerned about food security in Poland and Europe – says Dr. Paweł Czyżak, an analyst at Ember.
Sheep and bees under the panels
So-called agrovoltaics is a new trend. Although large solar power plants are often built in agricultural areas, these are usually plots of land not used for crops. Agrovoltaics (also called agri-PV) consists of connecting one with another. On such farms, the panels are installed in such a way that between or under them, cereals, fruits or aromatic plants are grown.
Even grazing of farm animals is possible. In Gazeta.pl We described the operation of such an installation in Andalusia, Spain. There, sheep graze between the panels, which provides mutual benefits: the shepherds have an area to graze their flock, and owners farms save on mowing grass because animals do part of it for them. In the same place there are also beehives.
According to industry organisation SolarPower Europe, there are already around 200 such projects in the EU, mainly in Western Europe.
On on the map There are only two projects from Poland that are experimental in nature. The first is the photovoltaic farm of the Zgorzelec Cluster for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency (ZKlaster), where bear's garlic was planted under the panels. Representatives of the Cluster are satisfied with the results and the first harvest. They also draw attention to the ecological effect – on the farm, where no pesticides or herbicides are used, wild meadow plants, insects and other animals appear. The second project combines photovoltaics with beehives.
The Ministry of Agriculture is not interested
Why are agrovoltaics in Poland currently limited to individual, experimental projects? The biggest barrier is the lack of appropriate regulations and – so far – the lack of willingness on the part of the authorities to change this. As the authors of the Ember report write, agricultural land used for solar energy production is excluded from subsidies, which also prevents its use for food production.
In June, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development informed in response to questions from PAP that it was “not working on changing the regulations regarding agrovoltaics”. It is true that farmers can install micro-installations on their premises, but this is not the idea of combining crops with energy production.
To build a large-scale solar farm, a decision from the district governor is needed to exclude the plot from agricultural production. The ministry argues that it is difficult to combine the existence of such an installation with agricultural production, for example due to the need to operate machinery. However, the practice from other European countries indicates that these problems are completely solvable. Agrovoltaic panels can either be mounted high to allow agricultural work underneath them, or spaced wider than normal to accommodate machinery. Movable panels can also be used.
– I look at the development of agro-photovoltaics with great hope. Farmers today are looking for modern solutions and sources of additional profit. Legal regulations regarding agro-PV, enabling Polish farmers to earn additional money, are very much needed today – says Mateusz Ciasnocha, a farmer from Żuławy Wiślane.