Where crops and photovoltaic energy learn to coexist
This article is adapted from a story originally published by Germany’s International Climate Initiative.
- Agriculture
- Colombia
- energy
Where crops and photovoltaic energy learn to coexist
This article is adapted from a story originally published by Germany’s International Climate Initiative. Read the original article on the IKI website.
Can the same land produce food and renewable energy without compromising farmers’ needs? In Colombia, the JET-AgriSOL project is working to answer this question by testing agrivoltaic systems, an approach that places solar panels above or alongside crops so that agricultural production and electricity generation can share the same space.
Although agrivoltaics has already been tested in other countries, solutions cannot simply be transferred from one context to another. Crops respond differently to shade, climates vary, and agricultural systems have distinct energy, management and socioeconomic needs. For Colombia, the challenge is therefore to identify which technologies and configurations are appropriate for its tropical conditions and diverse rural landscapes.